Creamy Avocado Pasta

6 ounces whole wheat pasta
1 large ripe Avocado, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Mango Jalapeno chicken sausages (or any flavor - this is just my personal favorite)
1 red pepper, diced

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Salt the water and add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Either grill, microwave, or bake chicken sausages according to package directions. Once cooked through, slice sausages into 1/4" thick slices.

3. While sausages and pasta are cooking, make the sauce by placing the avocado, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and creamy.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and place pasta into a large bowl. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss until pasta is well coated. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Top with cooked sliced chicken sausage and diced red pepper. Serve immediately.

Note: This pasta dish is best eaten the day it is made.

Time: 15 minutes. Serves 2. Can easily be multiplied to serve many. Such a quick and easy dinner!

{Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod}

Creole Breakfast Bread Pudding

1/2 lb sausage
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup dry white wine
8 cups french bread cut into 1" cubes (day old or stale is ideal)
2.5 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup melted butter
8 large eggs, beaten
8 ounces peperjack cheese, shredded
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp each black and cayenne peppers
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 325. Cook the sausage in a skiller. Add onions and peppers. Cook for 3 min more. Stir in the green onions, add wine and cook over high heat for 1 min. Set aside.

Place bread on a mixing bowl. Add milk and cream. Stir well. Let sit for 5 min.

Pour melted butter into a 9x13" pan and coat sides. Pour extra butter in with the bread.

Mix sausage and bread mixtures. Add eggs, jack cheeses and seasonings. Put in the pan and cover with foil.

Bake 1 hour. Uncover and bake 15 min more. Remove from oven and increase the temp to 375. Spread sour cream and parmesan cheese over the top. Bake for 10-15 min. Serve hot.

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable stock

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

vinaigrette
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon, apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

1 green onion, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons sliced toasted almonds
small handful of dried cranberries
feta cheese crumbles

Bring vegetable stock to a boil and add in quinoa. Cover and simmer over medium heat until tender and mostly absorbed. Drain, fluff with a fork and set aside.

Meanwhile, toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, cumin, chili powder and cayenne and bake in a 400F oven for about 20 minutes or until tender.

In a small serving dish, toss together the quinoa and potatoes. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar (tasteand adjust seasonings, if necessary) and pour over salad. Add in green onions, almonds, cranberries and feta and combine.

Serves at least 8 as a side.

{from Poppytalk}

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
about 6 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and diced

In a skillet over medium high heat, fry up bacon until cooked through and let cool on paper towels until cool enough to dice. Dice up and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes. Fold in cooked bacon. Roll into large walnut sized balls and create a criss-cross pattern with a fork. If you’d like, roll the dough balls in granulated sugar before making the criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for five minutes.

Mushroom Turkey Barley Soup

1 Tbsp butter
1/2 c onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
5 c chicken broth
1/3 c pearl barley
1 T soy sauce
4 carrots, sliced
2 tsp dried dill weed
pepper to taste
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 lb turkey breast, cubed

Melt butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until onions are tender but not brown. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

 Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Add stock, barley, soy sauce, and turkey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Add carrots, dill, and pepper. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until barley and vegetables are tender.

Play Dough

3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
6 tsp. cream of tarter
3 tbsp. oil
3 cups water

Pour all ingredients into a large pot. Stir constantly over medium heat until a dough ball forms by pulling away from the sides. Knead dough until the texture matches play dough (1-2 minutes). Store in plastic container. Should last for at least 3 months.
To color, divide into 6 pieces. Into each piece, knead 1 packet of Kool-Aid.

Kool-Aid Colors:
Lemon-aid: Can hardly tell it's in there
Pink Lemon-aid: Very pale pink, fleshy
Blue Raspberry Lemon-aid: Light blue
Cherry: Pink
Strawberry: Dark pink
Lemon-Lime: Bright green
Grape: Blue-purple
Orange: Bright orange

The Perfect Bloody Mary

5 1/2 oz. V8 hot & spicy tomato juice
1 1/2 oz. gin or vodka
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. worcestershire
fresh ground black pepper
celery salt
olive or pickle juice
tobasco sauce

Combine tomato juice, gin (or vodka), lemon juice and worcestershire in a glass with ice. Add a few twists of pepper, a few shakes of celery salt, a dash of olive or pickle juice, and a dash of tobasco. Stir. Adjust to taste. Garnish with pickle, lemon, salami, cheeses and olives.

This can easily be made non-alcoholic by omitting the gin.