Recipes of the Week: Bacon Bow Tie Pasta & Guinness Crock Pot

SH here and I am loooving all my new recipes! It's getting a lot less intimidating with each new thing I try, and I'm really loving trying new foods in my own home :)

Bacon Bow Tie Pasta
I picked this gem up at MyRecipes.com and the full bacon bow tie pasta recipe is right here for you!
The recipe is pretty simple and it didn't take long for me to make. I did use gluten free pasta instead of bow tie pasta to keep the gluten out of this dairy heavy recipe. Honestly anything with bacon is f$%^& delicious for me! The sauce was easy to make... and dude, bacon for dinner? Yes please!
My husband is not a huge cream cheese fan and did think this sauce was a bit heavy and creamy - but it's bacon, he'll be fine.

All ready and stirred up in the pot with sauce, noodles and crispy bacon!

Serve hot :)

Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew
I made this recipe for my office - we had a pot luck to celebrate St Paddys Day so I knew this sick twist on my usual crock pot fav would be amazing. BakedByRachel.com had a great recipe that I followed for this one - you can check it out for yourself right here.

It does take a bit of prep work (crock pot always does) but it's so worth it and it smells so damn good when you wake up! (I got wifey points for waking up to an apartment smelling like beef and guinness) :)

All chopped up and ready to go

Add that Guinness in! I used a whole bottle :)

Pure St Paddys Day food joy!

What new recipes have you all been getting yourself into? Trying out holiday themed recipes? Sharing with your office or family? Post links below - I'm always looking to try something new :)

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No More Recipe Ruts - new ideas to try!

Stephanie here with another recipe rut update. I've been doing a pretty good job at trying new recipes - especially during crazy work weeks when my husband and I have both been traveling. I have been picking and choosing from my crazy long list of new recipes I want to try and have 2 new recipes to share!

Weight Watchers Parmesan Chicken Cutlets

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa
D loves broccoli... me notsomuchatall. But I know broccoli is super good for you, so I had to give it a go. When he suggested this recipe I got super anxious because the smell/taste/texture of broccoli makes my stomach churn. So it is forever D's goal to get me to eat more broccoli. We found this cheesy broccoli quinoa recipe on one of our fav recipe websites Closet Cooking.

I am very happy to announce that I LOVED THIS RECIPE! I ate broccoli and lived to tell the tale! So stoked I can add this recipe to my favs and add broccoli back to my diet. We have already made it twice - it's not time consuming at all. The first time we made it on it's own and it wasn't enough of a meal. The second time we added chicken and it was a perfect meal. I really recommend trying this one out for a quick and easy dinner!


Weight Watchers Parmesan Chicken Cutlets
I love Italian food, so when I found this recipe I couldn't wait to try out this lower fat / not totally cheesy version of chicken parm! You can find the recipe here on food.com - it is super quick and easy to make.

Chicken baked and ready to go!

My finished product :)

I also made a side of gluten free pasta with tomato basil sauce to go with it. It was a good pairing, but next time I may try a homemade sauce to give this meal an extra kick.

Have you tried any of these new recipes? What is your fav way to try new recipes - do you add your own flair and spices or follow the recipe to the T? Share your fav recipe links on our S & Tea Facebook page!

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Baked Falafel & Tahini Sauce

Lacey, here!

I've been meaning, for years, to try homemade Falafel. And tonight was the night.

Falafel

Ingredients:

1 can garbanzo beans (rinsed & drained)

1 Tbsp EV Olive Oil

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon dill weed

1 small onion, quartered

1/3 cup parsley leaves

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon baking powder (optional, but it makes them fluffy)

dash of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place all items in food processor. Process for 10 seconds.

Scrape down the sides and then pulse about 10 times, or until it's the consistency you'd like. Some like little chunks, some like it smoother.

Form your batter into ping-pong sized balls. Press down a bit if you want patties.

Bake for 20 minutes, flip, bake another 20 minutes. Ta-da! (I know these are traditionally fried, but we don't need that!! Bake at a high temperature for a crispy outside!)

Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Tahini
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp coconut water (or regular water)
1 small tomato, diced
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
1 small dill pickle, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced and then mashed into a paste
Dash of paprika

 Diretions:
Place tahini in bowl. Add in lemon juice and stir with fork until blended into paste.

Slowly add in coconut water. Stir, stir, stir.
Add in remaining ingredients.

The finished product. I'm quite proud of it! The falafel was a great consistency. I'd love to try out some other sauces in the future! Maybe some peanut butter based sauce. Mmmm.

The final meal included spaghetti squash with a Thai seasoned carrot/onion/tomato topping.

I hope this encourages you to try out new meals that may seem intimidating. I really regret not making Falafel sooner!!

An Inappropriate Amount of New Recipes to Try

Hey friends, SH here. As I mentioned, I was stuck in a recipe rut. So I have been and will be posting all the new recipes I am trying every week and giving my reviews of them. Except that I went overboard this week (thanks, Pinterest) and found like 30 new recipes I am dying to try. Obvi these will take me weeks to go through, so I can't help but overshare right now.

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These are links to the top recipes I can't wait to try:

http://www.stacymakescents.com/fix-and-forget-friday-crock-pot-chicken-fajitas

http://www.twirlblog.com/2010/12/potato-goodness.html

http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-garlic-chicken-5478

http://www.food.com/recipe/cheesy-chicken-bacon-tater-tot-crock-pot-bake-403520

http://www.food.com/recipe/weight-watchers-parmesan-chicken-cutlets-185342

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/baked_parmesan_tomatoes.html

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/ginger_meatloaf.html

http://diaryofarecipeaddict.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweet-spicy-bacon-chicken.html

http://www.snackpicks.com/en_US/recipes/details/macaroni-and-cheese-with-veggie-bacon-recipe.html

http://diaryofarecipeaddict.blogspot.com/2012/03/copycat-macaroni-grills-penne-rustica.html

http://skinnytaste.ziplist.com/recipes/318299-Spaghetti_with_Sauteed_Chicken_and_Grape_Tomatoes

http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/02/crock-pot-potatoes/

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/3251876576/super-easy-tandoori-chicken

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Recipes/Recipe/Cheesy-Potato-Frittata.aspx

http://www.cookincanuck.com/2013/01/baked-turkey-quinoa-zucchini-meatballs-recipe-in-lettuce-wraps/

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/lunch-box-tomato-chickpea-soup-swiss-chard-recipe.html

http://whatsgabycooking.com/nacho-loaded-potato-skins/

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*Maybe if you cook healthy all week, you can try my Mardi Gras tie dye cupcakes to celebrate :)

OK, so now that I did all the recipe research for you - which ones will you try?! Not all are gluten free or dairy free, but you can adjust each one to your own liking. Does it terrify you to try new recipes? Or do you look forward to it all day? Have you ever worked hard on a meal that just ended up sucking? Where do you do your recipe research? Pinterest addict like me? What are your favorite places to read food reviews and check out new things to try?

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