Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 1¼ cup sugar plus ⅓ cup sugar to roll cookies in
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 2 eggs
• 5 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¾ teaspoon salt

FROSTING

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1½ teaspoons lime juice
• 5½ cups powdered sugar
• Sliced limes for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a large mixing bowl cream together butter, sugar and powdered sugar.
4. Add lime juice and eggs and beat again.
5. Add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt and mix until it comes together. Do not over mix.
6. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll them in the ⅓ cup of reserved sugar and place onto the cookie sheets. (9 balls per sheet.)
7. Spray a glass drinking glass with vegetable spray and then dip it into the sugar.
8. Press the glass into each ball and twist to make a rough edge. (Don't go too deep, you still want a nice thick cookie.)
9. Bake for 8-9 minutes until cookie looks cooked but not brown. You want these to seem a little under-done for a soft cookie. Get it too crispy and it won't have the same delicious melt in your mouth effect.

FROSTING

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy and smooth.
2. Frost each cookie and garnish with a lime wedge.

Lightened-Up Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a medium onion)
• 1 cup sliced carrots (1 and 1/2 large carrots)
• 1 cup sliced celery (2-3 stalks)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme*
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 cups chicken broth*
• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced (around 1 and 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups shredded roasted chicken*
• 1 cup fat free half-and-half or whole milk*
• 4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles*

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven (4 quart or larger). Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Sauté for around 7 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add flour, oregano, pepper, thyme, and salt. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Next, add the broth and potato. Give everything a quick stir, then increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the soup to a boil, without stirring, and boil for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot, and allow to simmer for 25 minutes or until the potatoes have softened. Taste the soup. Does it need more seasoning like salt, pepper, etc? Add some. Add the chicken, milk/half-and-half, and noodles. Cook for 10 minutes until the noodles are tender and the soup has thickened. Once again, taste the soup and add more seasoning as desired. Serve the soup warm.
3. Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To reheat, simply pour into a pot over medium heat and cook until warm. Feel free to add more chicken broth to the leftovers if it's too thick-- I always do. (Soup thickens in the refrigerator as the noodles and potatoes soak up the liquid.)

Freezing: Freeze soup for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator the day before eating, then reheat on the stove until warm.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

• 10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach (thawed)
• 10 oz artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded romano cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 10 ounces prepared alfredo sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 ounces softened cream cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients with a spoon until smooth.
3. Place in an 8x8-inch glass dish, and baked for about 30 minutes.

Teriyaki Chicken and Veggies

INGREDIENTS

•  2 small-medium yellow or zucchini squash, about 12 ounces, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
•  1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
•  1/2 to 1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
•  1 medium head of broccoli, about 12 ounces, stem trimmed, and florets cut into 1-inch pieces or so
•  1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into about 1/2-inch strips
•  1 tablespoon olive oil
•  1/2 cup pineapple juice
•  1/3 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
•  1 tablespoon molasses
•  1 tablespoon brown sugar
•  1 tablespoon rice vinegar (can sub white vinegar)
•  1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
•  1 to 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the chopped veggies and chicken strips evenly across the bottom of a large sheet pan (about 11X18-inches or so).
3. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, pineapple juice, soy sauce, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic and ginger (see note about doubling the sauce). Pour the mixture over the chicken and veggies.
4. Toss everything together until the chicken and vegetables are coated with the sauce. Arrange the ingredients in an even layer again making sure the chicken pieces aren’t overlapping each other.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the vegetables are sizzling and crisp-tender and the chicken is cooked through, increase time as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed!
6. Serve immediately over hot, cooked rice or quinoa (or on it's own!).

NOTES

If you want a saucier end result, you might consider doubling the sauce. If it were me, I'd only pour half of the sauce over the sheet pan ingredients and cook per the recipe, and then take the other half of the sauce, stir in 2-3 teaspoons cornstarch and bring to a simmer on the stove to thicken and use the extra sauce for serving.

Feel free to sub out the vegetables in the recipe for other favorite choices like asparagus, cauliflower, other types of squash, etc. - you could easily add cherry tomatoes, too.

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
• 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1-1/2 cups sour cream
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
• Hot cooked brown rice, optional

Directions

• Combine the oregano, seasoned salt and pepper; rub over chicken. Place in a 3-qt. slow cooker.
• In a small bowl, dissolve bouillon in boiling water. Stir in lemon juice and garlic. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender.
• Remove chicken and keep warm. Stir in sour cream and parsley; cover and cook for 15 minutes or until heated through. Serve chicken with sauce and, if desired, rice.