Dessert Tacos

These dessert tacos are a great addition to a Mexican themed party!  But trust me when I say that you do NOT need a Mexican themed party to justify making them.  They are just that good!  Pinterest is my friend for brainstorming creative food ideas.  Found a recipe to get my brain started and then had to change it a little bit to make it work for the end result I wanted.  

Dessert Tacos

1 roll sugar cookie dough
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 of a small carton cool whip
Assorted fruit - strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges
Two paper towel rolls covered in foil

The number of cookies you can bake in a batch will depend on how many paper towel rolls you have.  If you have two rolls, you should only bake 4 cookies at a time.  Unwrap roll of sugar cookie dough.  Slice dough in 1/2 inch slices.  Bake per directions on packaging, mine said 11-14 minutes.  I set the timer for 11 minutes and then checked it every minute until it was just starting to get golden around the edges and slightly on top.  Remove from oven and leave on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes.

 Transfer one at a time and drape over the paper towel rolls - I did two on each roll.  Set timer for 90 seconds.  At the end of 90 seconds, you will carefully pick up a cookie and turn it over and set in the dip in between the two paper towel rolls (see picture below).  Then slowly scoot the rolls closer together until you get them the size you want.  Allow to set for 4-5 minutes until hardened.  Keep repeating until you get all the cookies baked and shaped.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. ;) The shaping part is tricky. Check out this post to see how it can go all wrong.  The first time I did it, I used one roll of dough and got 8 usable taco cookies.  The second time I did it, I used two rolls of dough and got 24 usable taco cookies.  So there is a learning curve.  The trickiest part is when you drape it over the paper towel roll... if the cookie is too soft gravity will pull down both sides and the cookie will separate in the middle.  Leaving the cookies on the cookie sheet 1-2 minutes helps to set them up a bit and I found made a difference with shaping.

My mother-in-law makes a super yummy dessert for holidays -- any holiday!  It is a fluffly, sweet cream with pineapple and mandarin oranges mixed in.  We call it Sunshine Salad.  I used that as the inspiration for the creamy middle of these.  

Beat softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until well mixed.  Fold in cool whip.  And then I just took a ziploc bag, filled it full and cut the bottom corner off to pipe into each taco cookie.  You could get fancy and use a decorator tip too.  Top with fruit. 

  

Chicken Parm Spaghetti Sliders

While working on putting together a menu for Return To Rest this winter, my sister sent me a video of spaghetti sliders from Delish.  I had recently pinned a recipe for Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches from Yellow Bliss Road.  I decided it was time for a recipe mash up.

These pack lots of yummy flavor into a smallish-mediumish slider sandwich.  Think cheesy garlic bread meets spaghetti meets chicken parmesan.  The whole time you make them you will be wondering how it will be possible to eat them without looking like an uncoordinated toddler.  But when they come out of the oven and you smell them, you will decide you don't care.  You'll grab a fork because you are going to try to stay adult while eating them.  Then your good sense takes over and you just pick it up and eat it.  And seriously -- they aren't too messy at all.  But if you want to wear a bib, no judging here!

We do it big around here -- this recipe is a double recipe and you can certainly reduce it in half.  But here's the best part of the double recipe -- these come together super easy.  And it is a great opportunity to bless someone else with a meal, or tuck an extra meal away in your freezer for a crazy day.  These will freeze just fine!

Chicken Parm Spaghetti Sliders

2 - 12 pack slider buns
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 lb. box of spaghetti
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 c. shredded cooked chicken breast
2 T. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
a couple shakes of onion powder
a couple shakes of salt
3/4 c. grated parmesan cheese (divided)
1/2 stick butter (melted)
2 t. garlic powder
1-2 t. garlic salt
parsley (garnish)
red pepper flakes (optional)

Prepare spaghetti pasta as normal and after draining, toss with spaghetti sauce.  While pasta is boiling, heat olive oil in a skillet.  Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds - 1 min.  Add tomato sauce, basil, oregano, onion powder and salt.  Bring to a fast simmer and reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes.  Add chicken, 1 c. mozzarella cheese and 1/2 c. parmesan cheese.  

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 9 x 13 pan with butter.  Slice slider buns in half and arrange bottoms in baking dish.  Mix melted butter, 1/4 c. parmesan and garlic powder.  brush bottoms of slider buns lightly with butter mixture.  Sprinkle with desired amount of garlic salt (I just give a light sprinkle from bottle and don't bother with measuring it.)  If you want a bit of heat, sprinkle red pepper flakes too.  Spoon the chicken parm mixture evenly on each slider bun.  Press down.  Take a fork and twist it in the big pot of spaghetti. Lift spaghetti bundle out and place on top of chicken.  Repeat for all slider buns.  Top with desired amount of mozzarella cheese and place slider bun tops back on.  Brush remaining butter/parm over top the buns.

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.  Just want to toast up the tops of the buns a little bit.  You'll see the parmesan cheese turn golden and that's when you want to pull it out.  Top with fresh (or dried) parsley flakes.  Serves 6.

Warm Winter Harvest Salad

This recipe is inspired by my first visit to Sweet Green in Boston, Massachusetts.  My sister took me when I was in town visiting and I loved the filling burst of flavor this salad bowl has to offer.  We don't have this restaurant in Charlotte so I had no other option but to create my own version.

I tested the recipe on my family and it was met with honest critique from my kids.  Maybe less goat cheese.  Maybe if you kept everything separate.  Yes! I like everything separate!  I like everything except the quinoa. (what???)  But it was adult approved.  So the recipe made its debut in January at Return To Rest, a retreat for ladies.  After requests for the recipe, I decided the old family blog was the best way to give others access to it.  So forgive the old fashioned blogger template and sparse posts.


















Warm Winter Harvest Salad

5 small sweet potatoes (approx 2 lbs)
1 bag of chopped kale
2 chicken breasts (cooked & diced)
2 diced apples (a sweet variety - I used pink lady)
1 c. quinoa*
2 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. slivered almonds (toasted)
4 T. olive oil (divided)
1/4 c. crumbled goat cheese
1/4 c. balsamic vinaigrette
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Peel and dice sweet potatoes.  Toss in 2 T. olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 20-25 minutes - or until soft.  While sweet potatoes are roasting, cook quinoa according to package directions, using chicken broth in place of water.

Go through bag of kale and remove large stems.  Throw away stems.  Heat remaining 2 T olive oil in medium saute pan.  Add kale leaves and season with salt.  Saute until warm and wilted.

Assemble salad by mixing ingredients and topping with goat cheese crumbles.

This salad make a large bowl -- serving 5-6.  It is just as tasty served cold the next day!

*you can sub rice or couscous for the quinoa -- and pasta would be delicious as well.  You want about 2 cups cooked of whatever you choose.