A couple of new recipes

I hit the inevitable "What's for dinner?" slump a couple of weeks ago. I was tired of all my past recipes and yearning for something new. We've tried several things. I liked all of them, but don't know that people with normal appetites would consider them to be an actual meal. They might be more of an appetizer. So I narrowed it down to these ones to share if you're looking for something easy and good.

QUESADILLAS CON FRIJOLES REFRITOS

Makes 6 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 cup fat-free refried beans
2 tablespoons salsa, plus more for dipping
12 6-inch corn tortillas
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped scallions
3/4 cup finely grated Monterey Jack cheese (3 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Combine refried beans and 2 tablespoons salsa in a small bowl.
3. Place a tortilla directly on a stovetop burner (gas or electric), set at medium, and toast, turning frequently with tongs, until softened, about 30 seconds. Wrap in a kitchen towel to keep warm while you soften the remaining tortillas in the same manner.
4. Lay 6 of the softened tortillas on the prepared baking sheet. Divide the bean mixture among these tortillas, spreading evenly. Sprinkle each with corn, cilantro and scallions, then cheese. Top with the remaining softened tortillas and press to seal.
5. Bake until lightly crisped and browned, about 10 minutes. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges. Serve hot, with additional salsa for dipping.

[I didn't use the scallions or cilantro. All four of us enjoyed this one.]

PITA PIZZA

I bought some whole wheat pitas topped them red sauce, cheese and veggies and popped them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. Oh my gosh. I LOVED it! We ate these on a night when Andrew was gone for work or church. I'm sure he would've still been hungry. Whit loved hers, but Brandon wasn't as big of a fan.

I'm making myself hungry for a fourthmeal.
Yikes.

VEGETABLE FRIED RICE

I got this recipe off the internet, and I think it was meant for an individual serving. I had to change the proportions a bit to make enough for our family, but everyone devoured this, too.

1/2 cup brown rice

1 egg&1 egg white

2/3 cup frozen veggies

1 cup sauteed mushrooms

1 cup broccoli

1/2 clove garlic

1 tsp canola oil

1 tsp light soy sauce

Instructions

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. Add oil to pan and heat over medium heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, veggies and broccoli and saute for 3 minutes.
3. Crack 1 whole egg and 1 egg white into a bowl. Whisk together and add eggs to heated pan.
4. Stirring constantly, cook until there is no more runny egg.
5. Add rice and soy sauce to pan and cook until heated.

And, finally, a little dessert. This is our new favorite treat. I am seriously addicted. I could eat WAY too many of these at one sitting. I got this recipe off a blog called The Pioneer Woman Cooks that my BFF Marianne told me about. She is a funny writer and I love reading her blog just for her humor. This is the first recipe I actually tried.

Candy Cookies

You can click on the link to read her version and see pics. But here's the gist:

Buy a tube of refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough and some miniature Reese's PB cups and/or Hershey's kisses.

Cut the Peanut Butter into 1 inch+ slices and then cut each slice into fourths

Place each little fourth into a mini muffin tin and bake at 350 for 7 minutes.

After you take them out, shove a candy into the middle while they're still warm. Let them sit for a few minutes and then use a spoon to remove. Oh...my...gosh...