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Fast and Delicious Parmesan Crostini

Oh my goodness these are so delicious, look impressive and literally take minutes to make!!  Thank you Kristin at Yellow Bliss Road for this amazing idea!  I served them with my Weeknight Tomato, Turkey, Spinach and Tortellini Soup, instead of crackers and it was wonderful!  Our little one enjoyed a bite or two as well!

Ingredients:

Baguette

Parmesan cheese

Butter

 Directions:

Heat skillet over medium-high heat.

Slice baguette into ½ inch thick slices.  Butter one side and place butter side down in a hot skillet.  Lower heat to medium.

Cook until golden brown.

Flip bread slices over, and top buttered side with grated Parmesan cheese.  Allow to sit on heat as cheese melts, until bottom is golden brown.

Weeknight Tomato, Turkey, Spinach and Tortellini Soup

I had all intentions of making a nice crock pot soup this weekend, but then life happened and next thing I knew it was 3pm and a bit too late for a crock pot meal since our little one will lose her mind if she is not eating by 5:45pm and I hadn’t even gone to the grocery store yet!  I had pinned a delicious looking recipe for Tortellini Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage and Spinach from Yellow Bliss Road last week, and figured why not give it a shot!  It looked pretty quick and easy on paper, and it absolutely is!  I did make a couple of modifications, such as using turkey sausage versus pork and dry basil versus fresh because I forgot to grab it at the store.

Of note, Kristin also included an easy and amazing recipe for a Stovetop Parmesan Crostini within her soup recipe post that is officially going to be a staple in my kitchen!  I did that recipe in a separate post for ease of finding it again in the future.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ medium yellow onion, diced
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons red wine
• 1 package ~1 pound of sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 1-28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1-32oz carton vegetable broth (low fat, low sodium)
• 1 package refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 2 cups water

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add onion, cook 3-5 minutes, then add salt, pepper and basil, continue sautéing until onions are soft, about 2-3 more minutes. 
2. Crumble turkey sausage into onion, cook until turkey is no longer pink, about 5 minutes, adding garlic for the last 30 seconds.
3. De glaze with red wine.  I used a nice Cabernet Sauvignon that we were drinking at the time.
4. Stir in crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth and water.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered until 10 minutes prior to dinner time.  The longer you simmer, the more flavorful it will be!!  Mine simmered for about 40 minutes this time.
5. Add in tortellini and spinach, cook 10 minutes.  *This is a great time to make the Parmesan Crostini, so it is all hot and ready to serve at the same time.
6. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. 

This made enough for my husband and I for dinner, 4-5 lunches and enough tortellini to serve a few to my little one for a few meals as well!

Quick and Easy Chicken Tacos

Wow, these were so delicious and easy! Huge thank you to Becky from The Cookie Rookie for this Easy Oven Baked Spicy Chicken Tacos recipe!  I followed her recipe, almost exactly, taking out the components that made it spicy, and ended up with a milder version below.  I actually assembled it all during my baby's nap early in the day, covered it and put in the fridge until it was time to bake it for dinner.   

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ pound cooked chicken, shredded-I grabbed a rotisserie chicken at the store and was good to go!

1 (1 ounce) packet Taco seasoning

½ medium yellow onion, diced

1-14.5oz can diced tomato, drained well (I try to always find the lower sodium versions)

1-4.5oz can chopped green chilies

10 Taco Shells-Becky from Cookie Rookie suggested Old El Paso Stand and Stuff Taco Shells in her post and they are amazing-no tipping over and making a huge mess.

8oz can Refried Beans (I couldn’t find an 8oz, so I simply used half of a readily available 16oz.

2 cups Mexican Four Cheese, shredded

Whatever toppings you would like-I used lettuce, and my husband also put sour cream and salsa on his.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet.

Add onion to skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until translucent.

Stir in the chicken, taco seasoning, tomatoes and green chilies.  Stir to combine.

Reduce heat and simmer 5-8 minutes.

Place the taco shells in the baking dish, per the recipe, I was able to fit all 10 shells in, and they were secure and upright!

Spoon 1 tablespoon of beans into the bottom of each taco shell.  Fill remainder of each taco with the chicken mixture.

Sprinkle each taco generously with the shredded cheese,

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cheese is fully melted.

Remove from oven, top with your favorites and serve!!