Old Spaghetti Factory Brown Butter & Mizertha Pasta

Long ago my family and I were on vacation in California where we ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory with friends of my sister (another long story for another day). I ordered the Brown Butter Spaghetti with Mizithra cheese. Since then I have never tried anything else from the Old Spaghetti Factory. It's that good. I was so happy to see this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and although it's not exactly the same it had the same unique taste of mizithra combined with brown butter.

1 package thin spaghetti

4 Tbsp butter

3/4 cup mizithra cheese (I found it at King Soopers, or any grocery store with a cheese counter)

Salt and pepper to tast

Dry parsley for garnish

Cooked chicken, optional

Cook spaghetti. In a separate bowl, brown the butter and add salt and pepper. Toss the spaghetti with the butter and serve with lots of grated cheese and parsley for garnish.

Energy Bites

I am addicted to these healthy no-bake cookies from Pinterest. Make them if you dare. You will love them!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes, COOLED (I just toast for a few minutes in oven until golden brown at 325 degrees)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I like dark!)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Method:

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.) Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients! Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter. And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flaxseed.

Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:

• chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
• dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
• chopped almonds, pecans, or sunflower seeds
• other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, etc.)

Whole Wheat Flax'n Apple Muffins

Muffins are my favorite weekend breakfast food. My personal preference being bran or whole wheat with fruit. I found this recipe on the back of the Flax Seed box and was very pleased with the results.

1/4 cup Flax Seed

3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 cup White Flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups finely chopped apples

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Blend dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine egg, vegetable oil and milk. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in apples and nuts. Batter will be thick. Fill well-greased muffin cups 2/3 full.

Streusel Topping:

2 Tbsp cold butter

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp flour

Cut cold butter with sugar and flour. Spoon onto top of muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until top springs back when touched.

Poppy Seed Chicken

A Mormon cookbook standard. I yet to find someone who doesn't love this "Mormon comfort food" - cream of chicken, chicken, and butter - casserole staples. My favorite way to eat it is over rice.

2 to 3 chicken breasts cooked and cubed (I usually just do this in a crockpot a few hours before)

1 cans cream of chicken

1/2 cup sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

Chicken stock (optional - depending if you want it more soupy)

Mix the above and put in a 8x8 pan or casserole dish.

3/4 tube of Ritz crackers, crushed (I use a zip-lock bag and rolling pin)

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Combine the above crunchy topping and spread over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

This is one of those recipes I clipped out of a magazine I don't know how many years ago and am very happy I finally got around to trying it. It's decadent in taste, but simple in preparation.

2 pkg. (8oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened (I used low-fat)

4 squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

1/3 cup sugar

1 tub (8 oz.) Whipped Topping

1 ready-to-use chocolate flavor crumb crust

Mix cream cheese, chocolate, and sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Another fantastic recipe from Jenni at www.abearinthekitchen.blogspot.com/. I love the moist flavor the root beer gave the pork and I liked how easy this meal came together on a busy day when I didn't get home until dinner time.

2, 2 lb pork picnic roasts (or a 4 lb pork butt/shoulder roast)
1 cans root beer
1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce, plus more for serving
hamburger buns or homemade rolls

Place pork roasts in slow cooker (Jenni uses picnic roasts, which are small pork shoulder roasts because they are easier to shred at the end). Pour root beer over the roasts. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Remove pork and discard liquid in slow cooker. Shred pork, removing fatty pieces, and return to slow cooker. Add barbecue sauce, using about 3/4 of the bottle. Toss pork with sauce to coat. Fill hamburger buns with pork and top with more barbecue sauce.

Holiday Bark

I was introduced to this wonderful concoction by my friend Kristi, who made it for Halloween, but when I saw Berry Oreos and Valentine candy corns I just had to try it out for a Valentines treat. Not only is it fun to look at, it's super yummy! Salt meets sweet as crunchy meets chewy.

1 bag vanilla chips or candy chocolate chips (usually found in craft stores)

1 hand full candy corns

10 Oreos, broken into pieces

2 hand fulls of pretzels, broken into pieces

holiday sprinkles

Mix dry ingredients and lay on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 30 second intervals until melted, stirring frequently. Slowly pour chocolate over dry ingredients and careful spread over all, then quickly shake sprinkles over all. When the chocolate has dried break into pieces.