Barbecue Ranch Dressing

     Everybody loves barbecue sauce and everybody loves ranch (or at least they should!).  I stumbled across a barbecue ranch dressing on blessthismessplease.com and had to give it a try.  It is delicious and can be used for anything!  I made a huge bowl and we dipped fries, chips, and broccoli in it.  Barbecue ranch has now become a common request in our house!  Enjoy!

Barbecue Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried dill
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Simply add everything into a bowl and whisk until well combined and tasty!

Simple, Healthy Roasted Cabbage

     One thing that I struggle with each night is coming up with new and exciting side dishes.  One side dish that I'm in love with is my Easy Asparagus.  Unfortunately, I can't make this every single night (well, I could but that would be mean to the other veggies).  I actually read about this roasted cabbage in a magazine and tried it one night.  It's very easy!  After several attempts, I have definitely perfected the sauce and this cabbage has become a common side dish.  Definitely try it out!

Roasted Cabbage

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cabbage, sliced into strips
3 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons turkey bacon bits
1 tablespoons lemon juice
Tin foil
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, sauce, lemon juice, and pepper.  Create a tin foil bag and place it on a baking sheet.  The liquid may leak so we want to catch it.  Toss cabbage strips in the sauce mixture and place inside the foil.  Before sealing it up, sprinkle bacon bits on top.  Seal the tin foil by rolling the edges over to make a little bag.  Place foil on top of a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  The cabbage will be soft and flavorful.

Tortellini with Ham and Peas

     One of my new favorite things in the whole world is tortellini.  I have started making tortellini recipes at least once a week.  I love how many different fillings you can find and how many different dishes you can create!  Tortellini is also a great main course for Meatless Mondays.  Check out my other tortellini creations...Tortellini Primavera and Tortellini Pasta Salad.

Tortellini with Ham and Peas (the original recipe was taken from myrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 package of frozen cheese tortellini (or any mini filled pasta)
1 cup of frozen peas
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup of heavy cream
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 pound of chopped ham

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook tortellini until just al dente (do not overcook), as package label directs. Add peas to pot for last 30 seconds of cooking time.
2. Drain tortellini and peas and return to pot. Stir in butter, cream, salt, pepper, Parmesan and ham. Turn stove on to medium heat and cook, stirring, until ingredients are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Homemade Tortilla Chips

     I love snacks and dips!  I could eat an entire meal of chips and dip.  I often contemplate ordering strictly off the appetizer menu when we go out to eat :)  Today's post is a simple and healthy alternative to salty, greasy chips and store bought dip.  Don't get me wrong!  I have a soft spot for Ruffles brand chips and canned spinach dip, but this recipe is so simple that there's no excuse for unhealthy choices.  These are great with salsa or my homemade Spinach Dip.

Homemade Tortilla Chips
Ingredients:
flour tortillas, cut into wedges
canola oil

salt
chili powder

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lay out one single layer of tortilla triangles onto a greased cookie sheet.  You may need to do this in batches depending on how many you make.  Drizzle chips with canola oil and sprinkle salt and chili powder.  Bake for 5-10 minutes.  Check them frequently until you find a good bake time.  They will burn quickly, but you want the chips to be crispy.  When they come out of the oven, store in an air tight container or bag for several days.

Play with your seasonings!  For "original" chips, use salt by itself.  Try lime juice and cilantro for a salsa pairing.

Football Special:Simple Baked Wings and Creamy Coleslaw

     With football season coming to an end, it's about time that I share some football food :) Since our weekend was fully booked with moving into a new place, I wanted to keep it extra simple.  Therefore, the Superbowl menu consisted of baked wings and coleslaw.

Simple Baked Wings
Ingredients:
One 3 lb bag of frozen chicken wings
Canola oil
Salt and pepper
Wing sauce of your choice (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue and Buffalo Wing Sauce)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Set frozen wings in one layer onto a baking sheet (one with a drip rack would be best so that the juices will drain).  Drizzle wings with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Carefully take pan out of the oven and turn wings over.  Bake again for at least 15 minutes.  Let cool then mix with sauce.  I put half of the wings in a Tupperware with barbecue and the other half with buffalo.  Seal and shake.  SO simple!  SO tasty!  Every time!

Creamy Coleslaw
Ingredients:
1 cup low fat mayo
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
one bag coleslaw (I actually chopped my own cabbage...about two cups)
one whole carrot, peeled and shredded

1 tablespoon grated onion

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the shredded cabbage and grated carrots. In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, grated onion, and salt. Pour the mixture over the cabbage and toss until fully coated with the dressing. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving and up to 2 days (or until coleslaw is soggy).