Easy Appetizers: Barilla Creamy Genovese Pesto Recipes Hummus Dip and Mini Pizzas

 *Disclosure: I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

With the holidays coming and people staring to have small gatherings new recipes have been on my mind. I wanted to take my normal recipes and add some new flavor profiles. When I had the opportunity to try Barilla Creamy Genovese Pesto I knew exactly which recipes I would add it to.

I have always been a fan of Pesto. The flavor is unique and delicious. The Barilla brand is one of my favorites with the rich creamy savory flavor. When you open a jar of it the aroma is amazing. I also like the brand because they are a family company that has been making products since 1877.

Barilla Creamy Genovese Pesto is a flavor-packed, versatile, and convenient pantry staple that is a must have for Italian food fans. Imported from Parma, Italy, it’s made with fragrant Italian basil and freshly grated Italian cheese. To preserve the natural color of basil and the fresh aroma of Italian Cheese, Barilla minimizes the handling of ingredients and rapidly prepares their recipe in as little as three hours from the start of ingredient preparation to the tightening of the lid. With Creamy Genovese Pesto, a little goes a long way; one 6.2-ounce jar of pesto mixes well with 16 ounces of pasta. 

I decided to make two different recipes to show the diversity of the Creamy Genovese Pesto. I started with a simple stir in recipe to make Creamy Genovese Pesto Hummus Dip. I love hummus and adding the pesto elevated the flavor into a creamy, cheesy, basil infused flavor that is so delicious. I will continue to make for not just gatherings but a go to snack.

Creamy Genovese Pesto Hummus Dip

-Use your favorite brand of classic plain hummus 10 oz.

-Stir into the hummus 2 oz. of Creamy Genovese Pesto

-Add more Pesto as needed for desired flavor

-Served with baby carrots and sliced sweet peppers

-Add pita chips or other vegetables as needed

Pesto Mini Pizza was also another easy appetizer I decided to make. I purchased ready to cook individual pizza doughs, fresh tomatoes and finely shredded mozzarella. 

Creamy Genovese Pesto Mini Pizza

-Follow the directions for temperature and cook time for the premade dough. 

-Add a spoonful of Creamy Genovese Pesto to the center of the pizza dough and spread evenly.

-Top with finely shredded mozzarella cheese

-Add sliced tomatoes on top of the cheese (you can add olives, onions or meat if preferred)

-Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown dough and melted cheese 

My son was excited to try the pizza. He loved the flavor of the Pesto Pizza. The aroma of pesto filled the house as it cooked and wow it smelled amazing! My son told me it tasted like pizza you would find in a fancy New York restaurant. A very sweet comment coming from my biggest critic. 

These two recipes are easy peasy to make and are delicious. Definitely a good option to make for an appetizer for dinner or even an after school snack. My son has requested the Pesto Pizza to be made again soon. As a Mom that is a win for me!

Barilla Creamy Genovese Pesto is available to purchase at Target (SuperTarget), Publix, Stop & Shop (Super Stop & Shop), Meijer, ShopRite, Hy-Vee, Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, and more. To find a store near you, visit momsmeet.link/barillalocate.

German Apple Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting #Recipe #ThrowbackThursday

#Repost of a recipe from 2016 of one of our favorite #cake recipes #ThrowbackThursday

I don't know about you, but Halloween sort of exhausted me this year. Between cooking and baking, and parties and trick-or-treating, I needed a rest. Of course, these are all things I love doing and love spending time with my family, but it's a nice lull right now before the Thanksgiving madness starts.

I've been wanting to make this German Apple Cake for awhile now, ever since I saw the recipe in one of my Taste Of Home magazines. The combination of apples and walnuts are one of my favorites, especially during this time of year. The recipe actually calls for pecans, but since I had just bought a giant 5 pound bag of shelled walnuts, I used them instead and it worked out great.

I like this cake as one you can take on a fall picnic, or tailgating at the game, or to someone's house. It's sturdy and smells and tastes just like fall. The cream cheese frosting is one of my favorites, and absolutely worth the effort to make it. I really don't like the taste of already-made frosting anymore even though it's convenient in a pinch. But honestly, there's nothing like homemade.

Recipe for German Apple Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups chopped and peeled apples

3/4 cup pecans (or walnuts)

For frosting:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons butter, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture and mix well. Fold in apples and nuts.

Pour into a greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth. Spread on cooled cake.

Makes 12 servings.



Stuffed Bell Peppers With Bleu Cheese Crumbles

One of the things I have tried to be more conscious of in my cooking is trying to cook with the seasons. You know, eating what's plentiful, and in season  at the grocery store or farmer's market, and incorporating that into your meal plans.

Lately, the bell peppers have been so gorgeous that they inspired me to make one of my favorite meals, stuffed peppers.

I like the flexibility of ingredients for stuffed peppers, and you can use turkey, or beef, or make them without meat if you like, too. And you can put veggies in them, from zucchini to tomatoes, to carrots.

For this version of stuffed peppers, I made them with healthy and yummy ground turkey. I put in lots of onions and chopped some mushroom to add to the meat mixture.

This really is an easy meal, and I like knowing that the red peppers are so healthy for you.

The tomato sauce on top of the peppers adds to their great taste, and makes them look good.

I have been a little obsessed with these bleu cheese crumbles lately from Trader Joe's, and have been finding all kinds of ways to use them.

Ground turkey can be a little bland for me sometimes, and so I added the crumbles to top the peppers, and I was pretty much in heaven. They added a delicious kick to the peppers, and I'll make this recipe again, using the bleu cheese crumbles.

Just add some delicious garlic bread and your favorite glass of wine, and you have an easy and delicious summer dinner to enjoy!


Recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers with Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Ingredients:

3 large red bell peppers
1 pound of lean ground turkey
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 small can tomato sauce
3/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles, or top with the amount of your choice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large baking dish with vegetable oil.

Wash and cut peppers in half. Cut off stems and remove seeds.

In a large bowl, combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, onion, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Pat meat mixture into each half of pepper. Put peppers into greased baking dish.

Spread each pepper with tomato sauce. Generously sprinkle Italian seasoning over peppers.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Top with bleu cheese crumbles.


post by Patricia

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding Recipe

I think there are two kinds of people in this world, those that love bread pudding and those that don't. I'm a bread pudding lover through and through, but most of my kids and grandkids don't care for it at all, which makes me sad that they don't love this homey and comforting dessert that is a favorite of mine.

But I guess that means that there's just more for me, ha-ha. This recipe for Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding is just beyond yummy. It's moist and rich, and tastes great warm or chilled.

Can you see that I made it extra fabulous and added a small scoop of chocolate ice cream? Of course it didn't need the ice cream, but I don't think you can ever have too much chocolate anything. It's a theory I'm sticking by!

You can also make this bread pudding in a 9x5 inch loaf pan if you want. I happen to like using my ramekins for individual desserts that I think are sort of special. And don't forget that good old whipped cream makes a super yummy topping for any kind of bread pudding you make.

Recipe for Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups cubed stale white bread
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray six 3-inch ramekins with baking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in bread and chocolate chips, let stand for 10 minutes for bread to absorb liquid.
Fill ramekins 2/3 full, and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until custard is set.
Serve warm from the oven or chilled. Top with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

California Style Turkey Leftover Sandwich with Oroweat Organic Bread and Giveaway

*The coupons for free product, information, and gift card have been provided by Oroweat® so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Oroweat® Organic bread. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Oroweat®

Around the time Thanksgiving is coming near I am delighted with the thought of turkey dinner with all the tradition side dishes. Even more exciting is the left overs we get to eat for about a week. We LOVE to make sandwiches in my house. Its simple to put together and can be eaten anywhere.

I have been making more attempts to have organic foods in my life. Fruits and veggies are where most people look first as did I. Now I have been looking for foods we buy all the time and almost consume daily. Bread is on the top of my grocery list weekly, we eat a lot of it. I enjoy bread with seeds, nuts and other grains added. It makes for an excellent base for any sandwich.

This year we decided to get Oroweat Organic Bread for our Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches. OH MY was it good!! The grains and seeds in the bread added its own texture to the sandwich that was great plus 9 grams of whole grains per slice. The bread by itself was a tasty snack. I toasted the bread first to give the bread a stiffer base for the sandwich.

Living in Northern California we luckily have tons of fresh fruits and veggies to buy all year long, I like to add avocado and spinach making our sandwich what I call California Style.

Recipe for California Style Turkey Leftover Sandwich:

2 Slices of Organic Oroweat Bread
Jalapeno Cheese Slices
Turkey
Cranberry Sauce
Stuffing
Avacado
Spinach

Assemble as you like and cut in half for eating. Enjoy!

Information about Oroweat® Organic Breads

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·         Available in 100% Whole Wheat and Grains & Seeds varieties, both are USDA-Certified Organic.

·         Visit https://www.oroweatorganic.com/ to use the 360° tool to see what’s inside and discover where you can find Oroweat® Organic breads at a store near you.

GIVEAWAY

One lucky reader will win 3 Oroweat Free Product Coupons for Oroweat Organic and a $25 gift card.


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*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts Dec 2, 2014 and ends on Dec. 10, 2014 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a product to review for this post.





 

Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes Made With TWIX Bites Candy

One of my very favorite candies, TWIX, now comes in packages of bite-size pieces. And if you are a candy lover like me, this is great news!!

Of course I love eating my TWIX Bites right out of the bag, but I've also been having some fun with using candy in my baking recipes lately.

Brownies are a big favorite around my house, so I decided to pair my best brownie recipe with new TWIX Bites for a yummy treat that my whole family would love.

I adore chocolate and so do my grandchildren. They quickly figured out that the TWIX Bites are the perfect size for those little fingers to pop right in their mouths!!

I was grocery shopping at Walmart when I found the TWIX Bites, and I saw they come in Milk Way, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers varieties, as well. I bought a few bags, thinking these would be the perfect treat for our family movie nights.

When I made my chocolate brownie cupcakes, the first thing I did was to chop up the TWIX Bites. Since they would be going inside the cupcakes and on top, I used the whole package to make sure they tasted really fabulous.

I made my favorite, super-easy brownie recipe, and filled the cupcake liners about a third full. Then I dropped in three pieces of the cut Twix Bites, and then added more brownie mix.

I filled the liners about 3/4 full because I like a big cupcake, and I'd rather have fewer and have them be big and fabulous, than more smaller ones.

My cream cheese frosting recipe is from Martha Stewart, and it really is delicious. I use this frosting for so many baked goods, including cakes, carrot cake, and cookies.

The brownie cupcakes came out of the oven and sank a tiny bit, but it turns out this just made them even more chocolaty. And they smelled so good!!

Recipe for Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes With Twix Bites

Makes 16-18

Ingredients:                                              
                                                        
1 cup butter 
1 cup cocoa  powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
                                                                                                                                             

8 ounces (1 bar) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Bag of TWIX bites, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Melt butter in a small sauce pan, then pour into a medium bowl. Add cocoa powder and stir until well combined.
Add eggs and stir into mixture. Stir in vanilla, flour, and salt. Do not over mix. Fill liner with batter 1/3 full. Drop in chopped TWIX pieces, and fill about 3/4 full. Bake 20-22 minutes.

Frosting:
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Spread frosting on top of cupcakes when they are cooled, and top with chopped TWIX pieces.
 

The cupcakes ended up tasting super good, so rich and chocolaty, and with TWIX as a delicious center. My family and I ate them for dessert that night, and I snuck one for breakfast the next morning!

This really is an easy recipe, and well worth the effort of making brownies from scratch. They can also be made with the other varieties of candy, and I'm thinking I'll make them with Snickers Bites for my grandson's end of the year barbeque. I'm sure they would be a hit with the kids and the parents, too.
#CollectiveBias

You can find all four varieties, including TWIX Bites, at your local Walmart.

There is also a great coupon at Social Twist that lets you save $1.00 off when you buy two 2.83 oz. or larger bags, or $3.00 off when you buy two 6 oz. or larger bags.

What a great reason to #EatMoreBites, right?

Making Chocolate Tarts With Delicious Milky Way Caramel Bites



I happen to be one of those people who are crazy about chocolate. I love chocolate anything, but a chocolate dessert is my absolute favorite. And a dessert made with chocolate and caramel candy? Yes, please!!

I just bought some cute little mini tart pans and have been thinking about making chocolate tarts for awhile now. Although I've made a couple of lemon tarts and other kinds, I've never tried making a chocolate one.

When I was shopping recently at Walmart, I made a trip down the candy aisle and found one of my favorite candies in the world, Milky Way.

But these were not regular candy bars, they were Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites. So cute, and the perfect snack size for myself and my grandchildren. I have been eating Milky Way candy bars since I was a kid, and I just frankly adore them.



 These are just so cute, and I decided to make my chocolate mini chocolate tarts with them as an ingredient.

 I can remember my own Mom using candy in her desserts, and they were always so delicious.

I try hard to be the best "Nana" I can be, and in my book, that includes providing yummy treats for my four grandchildren. I didn't doubt these little tarts would be a big hit with them.

I have to say that Walmart has a fabulous candy aisle, and it's pretty easy to find your favorites.

Not only did I find Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites, but Snickers and 3 Musketeers Bites, as well.

With three kinds to choose from, I can definitely #EatMoreBites in these kinds as well.
#CollectiveBias.

The thing that I have found about making tarts is that making the filling is the easy part. The hard part is getting a light and flaky tart crust. You don't want to mix the dough too much or it will end up being tough.

I wanted the Milky Way Simply Caramel bites to be inside the filling, and on top. You can never have too much of a good thing!!

I put some into my mini food processor and chopped them up so that they would blend easily into the chocolate filling and create a rich chocolate and caramel dessert. Then I used larger pies to go on top of the tarts, as a finishing touch.

Honestly, making tarts used to intimidate me. They seemed like such a fancy dessert, and I only ever ate them at a restaurant or someone's house that was an excellent cook.

But they really aren't that difficult to make, and I'm so happy I made these. Were they good?

Yeah, they were super good!! And I'm totally going back to Walmart and picking up more Bites, this time in not just the Milky Way Simply Caramel, but the Snickers and 3 Musketeers kind, too.

Here's my recipe for Chocolate Tarts With Milky Way Caramel Bites


Ingredients for Tart Shells:

 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

 Combine butter, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl and mix together with a hand mixer until smooth. Stir flour into butter mixture to make a smooth dough, but do not over mix.
Press dough into a 8 mini tart pans refrigerate  for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake tart shells until light and golden, 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Ingredients for Filling:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup good quality baking cocoa
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites, ground up in a food processor

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in milk.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, boil and whisk for 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Whisk in finely chopped chocolate and caramel bits. Refrigerate filling until chilled. Spoon into tart shells, and top with sliced Bites pieces.

I dusted the shells with powdered sugar before filling them, but this is completely optional.

Makes 8 tarts.



If you'd like to try Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites, or the two other available kinds, Walmart is offering two great money-saving coupons for you to use.

Receive $0.75 off when you buy (2) 2.83 oz. bags or $3.00 off when you buy (2) 6 oz. bags or larger

• $3.00 off 2 link:
• http://coupons.walmart.com/?cid=18153148
• $0.75 off 2 link:
• http://coupons.walmart.com/?cid=18153149

You can also join the #EatMoreBites Twitter Party on Friday, March 14, from 1:00-2:00 PM EST for a chance to win $550 in Walmart Gift Cards. 



Baking Candy Cane Chocolate Cupcakes With Land O' Lakes Butter #HolidayButter #shop #cbias

Holiday baking has been a long tradition in my family, so I'm very excited to be in the kitchen baking some of my favorite treats.

Chocolate and peppermint are a must during the holiday season, so I combined the two and made these yummy cupcakes.

My grandchildren were thrilled when they saw them, and it was a real struggle for them to wait until after dinner to have one.

The key to successful baking for me, is using the highest quality ingredients that I can. Butter is one of those ingredients, and I always like stocking up on it at this time of the year.

Celebrating 12 Years of Marriage with Fresh Finds from Save Mart Supermarket #shop #FreshFinds

This week my husband and I will be celebrating our 12 year wedding anniversary. My husband is a former chef and can make fabulous food! I am blessed to have him as a stay at home Dad that cooks and cleans but this means for me on a special occasion I like to cook for him.

After getting the weekly ads for grocery stores in the mail I decided to head to Save Mart Supermarket to shop for the ingredients I need for my Italian Romantic Pasta Dinner. My husband and I were married in Lake Tahoe and honeymooned at Caesars Palace. We had the best pasta and caesar salad for dinner there.

I plan to make a Vegetable Pasta Casserole full of fresh veggies and fresh refrigerated Pacific Coast Selections Pasta Sauces from Save Mart. My husband and I have been eating so much BBQ this summer that I wanted to have a special occasion with a meatless option. I shopped for fresh pasta sauce, zucchini, red bell peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, a salad kit and carrot cake for dessert. Its a yearly tradition to eat Caesar Salad on our anniversary to remember Caesars Palace.


Vegetable Pasta Casserole Recipe 

2 containers (26 oz.)  Pacific Coast Selections Marinara Sauce
1 pkg.  (7 oz.) Shredded Cheese
3 cups  pasta, cooked
2 large  red peppers, cut into thin strips
2  zucchini, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 lb.  mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup of sliced olives
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Boil pasta while chopping up the vegetables. 

Set aside 3/4 cup of the cheese.

Combine all vegetables, pasta sauce and remaining cheese in a bowl. Mix together. Spoon in mixture to baking dish. Top the mixture with the cheese that you set aside.

Bake 20-25 minutes until heated through. 

Through the years my husband and I have been married sitting down to eat a meal together each night has done wonders for our marriage. No matter what kind of day we had, what ups and downs there are we always like to share a meal together. Food can bring back memories of good times and help you create new memories. I am so happy we decided to spend our anniversary dinner having a romantic dinner for two at home with something I made just for him from Save Mart.

My husband and I shared a delicious meal, laughed about the the many things that have happened over the last 12 years and ended the night watching movies together. It was a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary and enjoy a healthy fresh meal.

What meal reminds you of your wedding day?