Chocolate Ricotta Pudding

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 lb Ricotta cheese, whole milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

-Mix all ingredients together until fully combined.

Chocolate PB No-Bake Cookies

Original recipe found here

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup ALMOND milk

8 TBSP butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 cups quick oats

1 cup creamy OR crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of Kosher salt

-Bring sugar, almond milk, butter, and cocoa powder to a rolling bowl. Let it boil for 3-4 minutes, while whisking.

-Turn off heat, add peanut butter and vanilla, then whisk until peanut butter is melted and fully incorporated. 

-Add oats and stir with a rubber spatula, until oats are covered with chocolate mixture.

-Use any size cookie scoop to drop cookies onto foil or parchment paper. Let cookies cool completely before eating.

Instant Pot Mac & Cheese

recipe found on activehipmama.com

16 oz. box elbow macaroni

3 TBSP butter

2 tsp salt

4 cups water

1 cup heavy cream

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

-Place the macaroni, water, salt, and butter. Set Instant Pot on 4 minutes manual.

-After the Instant Pot runs its course, let the steam out.

-Take off the lid, and set Instant Pot to "Sauteé" setting. Add heavy cream and shredded cheese and stir constantly until cheese is melted.

SOOOOOOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!!!

Mild Taco Seasoning

Recipe from tablespoon.com

1 TBSP chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika 

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp kosher salt

-Combine all ingredients into a bowl, mixing well.

-To Use: 

Brown 1 1/2 lbs of ground meat. Drain off any excess fat. Sprinkle with mild taco seasoning and stir well. Add 3/4 cup water and stir. Cook over medium heat until the water is fully absorbed. 

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Original recipe found here

Ingredients

For the bread:
• 3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• dash of salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
For the swirl:
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and four a loaf pan. Mine was 9 x 5, but you could use any sort, I suppose. Just keep a close eye on it in the oven, and adjust the time as needed
2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!
3. In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.
4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, but remember, if you’re using a different-sized loaf pan, be careful and keep a close eyeball on it!

Easy Guacamole

Original recipe found here

4 avocado, ripe

1 small onion, diced (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ripe tomato, diced

1 lime, juiced

salt & pepper to taste

-Mash avocado, stir in remaining ingredients. Let it chill for a hour or more

**HINT: after you've made the guacamole, put the avocado pits in the same container. This keeps the guac from turning brown!!

Stuffed Meatloaf

Meatloaf:
1-1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 lb of ground mild Italian sausage
1 egg
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Filling:
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup sliced mushrooms, sautéed to release excess water
2 cups sautéed baby spinach
1 tsp minced garlic (opt)

-Spray 9x13 inch pan. Preheat oven to 375*
-Mix all of the meatloaf ingredients together well. Form into a loaf on the sprayed 9x13 inch pan.
-Make a hollow center down the entire length of the meatloaf, shaping the sides to stretch tall, like a canyon.
-Sautee mushrooms, garlic, and spinach using 1-2 TBSP of olive oil until mushrooms are soft and spinach is wilted.
-Sprinkle half of cheese on the bottom of the meatloaf "canyon", put the sautéed mushrooms and spinach on top, then sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.
-Pull the long sides up over the meatloaf, sealing the ends together over top of the filling. Make sure all the filling is completely covered!
-Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the meat reaches 160* internally.
-Allow to sit and cool for 10 minutes before serving. This allows the filling to solidify a little bit before serving.