chocolate pudding pops

#20 of 50 was found in a Kraft food flyer ... I don't know if it's possible to do this dairy-free because of the pudding. Is Cool Whip dairy free?

1. One 6-oz. box of instant chocolate pudding made according to the directions on the box
2. A little less than half of an 8-oz container of Cool Whip
3. As many crushed Oreos as you want

Mix those all together. Put it in small paper cups (it doesn't seem like plastic would work nearly as well), stick popsicle sticks into them, and put them in the freezer for at least 2-3 hours. The original directions said 5 hours - we pulled them out at about 2 hours because Summer was getting impatient. They were pretty soft still, but firm enough to eat on the stick.

Cooking blogs normally have pictures so I might as well get my butt in gear with that ... the girls were more than happy to sample the pudding pops in front of the camera.

ready to go into the freezer

We love chocolate! La la la!

gotta bite it because of the cookie chunks

the chocolate goatee

All done! And so yummy!

Tuna Pasta Salad

I like this recipe because it is nice and cool, and filling as well. Great for the heat of summer!

1 lb pasta
2 cans tuna
1 cucumber
1 onion
1 bell pepper, any color
1 head of broccoli
salad dressing of choice ( I use Ranch, and have used Italian in the past)
shredded cheese

Cook, drain, and cool the pasta. I usually run cool water through it when I am draining it and that does the trick. Open and drain the tuna, then add to the pasta. Chop all vegetables, and add to the pasta. Add salad dressing to taste. I like to have a medium coating on it. Serve chilled with shredded cheese on top.

peanut butter granola bars

We love baked oatmeal and all things peanut butter in this house ... this is a wonderful mishmash of the two. Got it here.

Peanut Butter Granola Squares

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour (or another kind of flour if you prefer)
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

1 cup butter*
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter (preferably organic PB with no sugar added)

Directions:
Combine oats through salt in a large bowl. Stir to combine.

Heat butter through peanut butter in a sauce pan until all are melted. Add melted mixture to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Stir to make sure oats are completely covered.

Spread the mixture into a 13 x 9 baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares. Enjoy!

*****
Comments: I used 1/2 c butter (well, dairy free margarine) and 3/4 c applesauce, and added about 1/2 c craisins. They were done at about 27 minutes. I used regular white flour (because I'm a dork and my wheat flour has gone bad).

The pan lasted for more than 2 days as it's very filling and we all could only eat one at a time, and they're portable and healthy, triple score! I'm actually eating the last one right now (because I work nights and need something to get me through). Kiddo loved them for breakfast, and even ate the craisins. lol. Hubby loved them, too, grabbing one in the morning as soon as he got home from work. They are soft to begin with but if you forget to cover them, they harden up a bit. We did take a couple squares in baggies while we were out and those were softer as well.

I would give them 5 stars because even if I wouldn't take them to a dinner party, I would serve them to house guests for breakfast.

Fresh Herb Penne With Chicken and Tomatoes

I found this on recipezaar and it turned out yummy. I added the crushed red pepper flakes and it gave it a nice zip.

• 14 1/2 ounces penne
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
• 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1/3 cup basil, fresh, chopped
• 10 ounces chicken breasts, cooked (can use chicken breast strips - 1 package)
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• salt and black pepper
• crushed red peppper flakes to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add tomatoes and basil; cook 2 minutes. Add chicken; simmer for 5 minutes. Toss with pasta and Mozzarella cheese. Season to taste with salt and cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.
3. Note: if you do not have fresh basil or garlic, you may substitute 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.

salsa cruda

#19 of 50 - I got this from a tiny Mexican book we have in a set called "Cookshelf ____" (Mexican, Italian, baking, etc.)

6 to 8 tomatoes finely chopped - what I did was seed them into a bowl, then chop and mix the pieces back in with the juices and seeds. It made it much easier to chop them without having the juice and seeds running all over the place.

3 or 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped - I just crushed them with the garlic crusher thing (for some reason, the name of it is escaping me).

fresh cilantro leaves, chopped - I used dried because I forgot to get fresh at the store

1 can diced green chilis OR 3-4 fresh jalapeno or serrano chilis deseeded and finely chopped

3-4 scallions finely chopped

pinch of sugar
salt to taste
cumin - it says 1 tsp, I did it to taste.

Adam had half of it gone with the chips before I had dinner ready (we had it with taco salad), so he obviously approved it!

potato salad

This is #18 of 50. I've made potato salad quite a few times but Adam and I were getting a bit bored with how we made it. This recipe was a bit off the beaten path for us - the vinegar makes a HUGE difference!

potatoes cut into bite sized pieces and boiled until you stick a fork into them. Check frequently so they don't get too soft.

1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley (or sprinkle in dried parsley)
salt and pepper

dressing: 1/2 cup mayo, 1 Tbl brown mustard, 1 Tbl white vinegar.

We left out the cucumber and added sliced hard-boiled eggs, because we're not big fans of cucumber and we like hard-boiled eggs.