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I realized that I forgot to post a recipe recap last week so this is two week’s worth of recipes! 🙂
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One of my favorite side dishes (and even main dishes) in the summer is pasta salads. While I enjoy creamy salads, I love lighter salads that focus on fresh flavors and locally grown veggies. This Penne Fresca Salad is so so good and so very easy to make. In Italian, Fresca means “cool” or “fresh”. So for “fresca recipes”, the ingredients are typically not cooked and are ready to serve. And that is what makes this recipe so simple to make.
If you are gluten free, like me, this recipe is easily adapted into a gluten free meal by using gluten free pasta. While I haven’t tasted a plain gluten free pasta that I fully love, I’ve found that as long as my sauce and foods on my pasta are flavorful, I don’t realize that my pasta is no longer wheat based.
The ingredients in this recipe are reliant on fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes. If you don’t have cherry tomatoes, you can always substitute larger tomatoes that you cut into bite sized pieces. You will want to deseed and remove the middle juices if you do use larger tomatoes to prevent your salad from getting too watered down. This recipe also requires fresh mozzarella which is just so so good. If you want to add a Greek twist to this recipe, you can substitute feta cheese for the mozzarella cheese. If you make any variations of this recipe, I would love to hear what you did and how your salad turned out!
Ingredients 
8 ounces cooked penne
½ pint grape tomatoes
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cubed
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, slivered
2 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
1-2 cups of fresh spinach or arugula
salt and pepper
about ¼ cup of EVOO
juice from one lemon
Directions
1. Cook the penne according to package, then rinse in cold water and place into large bowl.
2. Saute garlic cloves in EVOO until lightly browned, then add in sun-dried tomatoes and cook about 1-2 more minutes; season with salt and pepper. Remove to a plate and let cool to room temperature (to speed up the process you can put it in the fridge or freezer).
3. Once room temperature, add sautéed mix to penne and drizzle with EVOO until lightly coated, then add in tomatoes and mozzarella.
4. Season mix with salt and pepper, add in spinach, drizzle with lemon juice, then mix well one last time.
5. Place on plate and top with nuts if desired (toasted pine nuts give nice texture) and enjoy!
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This recipe is adapted from Recipe International
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If you are looking for a simple cookie recipe, this is it. This Banana Oatmeal Cookies Recipe can be made with as little as two ingredients. No, that isn’t a typo – two ingredients! You don’t have to add oil or butter to make these easy cookies making these cookies so much healthier than typical cookie recipes! The base of these Banana Oatmeal Cookies are fresh, ripe bananas and quick oats! And, if you eat gluten free, you can very easily make these cookies gluten free! Just make sure you use Gluten Free Quick Oats!
Once you have your base for your cookies, you can either make your cookies, or you can add in mix-ins! The mix-ins can be any ingredients you enjoy in cookies. White or regular chocolate chips, dried fruit and/or coconut would make excellent fillers! (See the recipe below for the ingredients in my pictured cookies!)
To start, mash you ripe bananas with the oats. (recipe is below)
Add the mix-ins you are interested in (recipe is below)
Place spoonfuls of cookie dough on a greased cookie sheet (recipe is below)
Ingredients
2 large older bananas
1 cup of quick oats
Mix-ins of your choice
(My pictured cookies have – a handful of chopped pecans, a handful of chopped dried cherries, a handful of coconut, a handful of mini chocolate chips, and about 1 tsp of cinnamon)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place bananas and quick oats in a bowl and mash together until oats are completed sticking to bananas
3. Mix-in whatever ingredients you would like! Just don’t go too crazy that the base is unable to stick together
4. Place by spoonfuls onto a GREASED cookie sheet
5. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees
6. Let cool and enjoy!
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Recipe adapted from Recipe by Photo
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I absolutely love this recipe. I know that within the past year, I would see a plethora of pureed and mashed cauliflower recipes online and on pinterest. I never tried any of them until this past winter when I had cauliflower in my fruit & veggie coop bin. I knew right away I wanted to try using cauliflower in different ways than typical steamed or roasted cauliflower. (In fact, go HERE to see my Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe!) For the mashed cauliflower above, I didn’t follow any recipes. Instead, I pretty much followed the same steps as making regular mashed potatoes except alternated the potatoes for cauliflower! Pictured above is the Mashed Cauliflower topped with my Sweet Potato Wedges Recipe and Pesto & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Recipe. YUMMO.
Below is a picture of the cauliflower as it was pureed in the food processor. (recipe is below)
Finished Mashed Cauliflower pictured below
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 ½ tbsp. of butter
¼ cup of milk
1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
green onions for garnish
Directions
1. Chop cauliflower into small chunks and place in boiling water for 8 minutes
2. Drain cauliflower well, then place in a food processor and run for 1-2 minutes
3. Add in butter, milk, cheese and process again until at desired consistency (2-3 minutes)
4. Add in salt and pepper and process one last time
5. Remove and add green onions on top for garnish before serving
Enjoy!
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I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Tyson. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. #cbias #SocialFabric
One of my favorite things to do is cook. While I like to follow recipes, I LOVE to create my own concoctions. In fact, if I am following a recipe, about 99% of the time, I am altering it. When I was given the opportunity to head to Sam’s Club and attend an in-store demonstration of Tyson Chicken Fries and then create a meal incorporating Tyson Chicken Fries, I jumped at it!
When I was at Sam’s Club, I immediately saw that they have a huge selection of Tyson products to choose from. There are cases and cases of Tyson Chicken Nuggets, Tyson Chicken Patties, Tyson Any’tizers and more.
The in-store Tyson Chicken Fries demonstration was held at the end of the aisle near the end cap and that is where I found the bags of Tyson Chicken Fries. It was obvious that Tyson Chicken Fries are popular because as you can see, the Tyson Chicken Fries were picked over!
I gave myself a personal challenge to create a meal using Tyson Chicken Fries that was quick, fresh and satisfying. In fact, I wanted to be able to make this entire meal during the time it took to cook the Chicken Fries (they take 12-15 minutes to cook)!
One of the ways my husband and I will try to eat healthy is by eating salads. I decided that utilizing my Tyson Chicken Fries, I would make a Chicken Salad with a Cilantro & Honey Dressing. I wanted the salad to have a Mexican twist and also utilize all of the fresh produce in my fridge.
I gathered all of my ingredients and preheat the oven at 400 degrees. During the time it took to preheat the oven, I was able to put my Tyson Chicken Fries on the cookie tray, wash my produce and begin cutting and putting the salad dressing ingredients into my food processor. (See below for the recipe.) At that point, the buzzer went off telling me my oven was preheated.
I popped the tray of Chicken Fries into the oven, finished putting the dressing ingredients into the food processor and pureed my Cilantro & Honey Salad Dressing. I taste tested the dressing and realized it was AMAZING. Originally I was going to add vinegar to the dressing but I realized it was perfect just the way it was. I still had 8 minutes left before the chicken was finished cooking. For the salad, I then finished chopping the onions, tomatoes and green peppers, crushed the tortilla chips and drained and rinsed the black beans.
When the timer went off for the Tyson Chicken Fries, the dressing was complete and the salad ingredients were chopped. All I had to do was cut the chicken (I cut the fries into thirds) and plate the salad.
This salad was SO SO good. In fact, as soon as I finished snapping pictures of it, my husband grabbed the plate and devoured it within minutes. The Cilantro & Honey Salad Dressing perfectly complimented the Tyson Chicken Fries. (The dressing tasted like one of my favorite salad dressings at Cheesecake Factory.) In fact, if you wanted to make the dressing and use it as a dip for the chicken fries without the salad, that would work too.
I was really excited to see the meal that I was able to create. I would eat this once a day – it was just that good.
Ingredients
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 big handful of Cilantro (around 1/3 cup)
1 clove garlic
Juice of one Lime
Zest of one Lime (I used the zest of about 1/3 of a Lime)
1 T honey
Salt & Pepper – (approximately 1/4 teaspoon – as needed)
Directions
1) Place all ingredients in a food processor.
2) Puree until smooth.
3) Enjoy!
I would buy Tyson Chicken Fries again in a heartbeat. The sky is the limit when it comes to meals I could create showcasing these Tyson Chicken Fries. I could create chicken salads with blue cheese dressing, chicken salads with ranch dressing, Asian chicken salads, Chicken Wraps, etc etc. Have you tried Tyson Chicken Fries? Have you made any fun meals with them? I would love to hear!
Make sure you “like” Club Tyson on Facebook. Soon, they will be holding a Six Flags ticket giveaway! Go HERE to like Club Tyson.
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Tyson. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. #cbias #SocialFabric
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If I could eat quinoa every day of the week, I would. I love the fact that Quinoa blends so nicely with a multitude of flavors. It doesn’t matter if I’m making Mexican food, Italian food, cookies or salads, the quinoa absorbs flavors very nicely and works well with different spices, oils, vinegars and veggies. Of course, I love that it packs a nutritional punch giving us 8 grams of protein per serving!
This salad relies on two fresh herbs from your garden – mint and parsley. And it relies on fresh tomatoes, cucumber and lemons. All of these ingredients are plentiful AND inexpensive in the summer so this makes a perfect side dish or main meal! Of course, I love this recipe because it is gluten free and perfect if you are a vegetarian or limiting your meat intake!
Below are the ingredients to the Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
Mix the cooked quinoa with the remaining ingredients as shown below.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups of pre-cooked quinoa
1 cup of finely diced tomatoes, with seeds removed (about 2 tomatoes)
1 cup of finely diced cucumbers (about 1 cucumber)
A handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
A handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
Juice from one lemon
EVOO, salt and pepper
½ – ¼ cup of toasted pine nuts (optional)
Directions
1. Cook your quinoa (2 parts water to 1 part quinoa), then set aside in a bowl and let cool. I like to cook my quinoa in my rice cooker – just make sure to watch it towards the end so it doesn’t burn.
2. While quinoa is cooking, chop up tomatoes, cucumbers, mint and parsley. I usually use a food processor to chop the mint and parsley together.
3. Add mint and parsley to cooked quinoa and stir to distribute, then add in tomatoes and cucumbers and do the same.
4. After ingredients are mixed, add in the lemon juice, EVOO, salt and pepper (adjust amount to taste) and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. Add in toasted pine nuts (toast in skillet on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally) and mix one last time.
6. Serve with crackers, pita bread, or pita chips. Enjoy!
Go HERE to see additional Recipes posted on Addicted to Saving
Additional Quinoa Recipes
Quinoa Summer Salad Recipe
Apple Quinoa Bites Recipe
Quinoa with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Red Onion Recipe (Gluten-Free)
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I am always looking for healthy, energy packed snacks that will carry me through the afternoon lull. I love this snack because it is gluten-free and so easy to make! You need only 5 ingredient and a food processor. The almonds provide protein and the dried dates and fruits provide fiber! These bars are so much healthier than purchasing prepackaged bars because you know each and every ingredient going into these bars!
My sister-in-law created this recipe with dried mango and coconut. If you prefer different flavors, you can totally switch out the mango or coconut with raisins, craisins, dried apricots, etc. The opportunities are endless for this recipe! And, if you follow the recipe below, taste your mixture after it is processed in the food processor. If you prefer for your bars to have a stronger mango or coconut flavor, you can always add more of that particular ingredient! This is a very forgiving recipe that is hard to mess up!
Once you have mixed and processed the ingredients, gently spread them and press them in a pan (see below for recipe)
Ingredients 
1 – 1 ¼ cup raw almonds
1 – 1 ¼ cup pitted dates
1 cup dried mango
½ cup coconut (sweetened or unsweetened should work)
¾ – 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
Directions
1. Chop up the almonds in a food processor
2. Add in all other ingredients* and pulse a few times to blend, then let food processor run for 1-4minutes, depending on food processor power**
3. Spread out in an 8×8 or 9×9*** pan and let chill in fridge for 1-2 hours.
4. Slice and enjoy!
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I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Tyson. #cbias #SocialFabric #SpringtimeNuggets”. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
When I was given the opportunity to participate in decorating Tyson Chicken Nuggets with a springtime theme, I jumped at it. Since my husband and I are adopting internationally, we realize that by the time our kiddo comes home to us, we will be through much (if not most) of their baby stage and we will be headfirst into parenting a toddler. My goal as a parent will be to create fun and yet nutritious meals for my kiddos that they will enjoy eating. So my brain was spinning when it came time to putting together a Springtime Tyson Chicken Nuggets meal! I was able to get lots of fun decorating ideas on Club Tyson’s Facebook page HERE and I also went to Walmart for additional ideas.
I headed to Walmart to attend their Tyson Chicken Nuggets Springtime Demo. I was able to see ideas of how to make plates of Tyson Chicken Nuggets into smiley faces, rainbows, flowers and more.
While at Walmart, I picked up a bag of Tyson Chicken Nuggets, some ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce and two potatoes. And yes, of course I used a $0.75 Tyson Chicken Nuggets coupon on my bag of nuggets! 😉
Once I got home, it was time to put my plan into action. My goal was to make an easy meal using my Tyson Chicken Nuggets that was both fun and nutritious. I had a bag of fresh spinach and some celery in my fridge. I also had fresh cornbread muffins and leftover cooked red quinoa that I was planning on using in my meal.
I popped a cookie sheet with Tyson chicken nuggets into the oven.
Meanwhile I boiled & mashed two potatoes and in a separate pot made red quinoa. I took a cornbread muffin that I had made earlier in the day and frosted it with my mashed potatoes. I dipped the frosted muffin into the cooked red quinoa. I chose to use red quinoa because it is so good for you and it looks like fresh soil.
On a cutting board, I placed the cooked Tyson Chicken Nuggets, celery stalk and fresh spinach. I cut the fresh spinach into grass-like strands and the celery I cut into my flower stalk. The celery had to be thick enough to support my chicken-nugget tulip and also stay in the corn muffin base. (And yes, I did use a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter to aid in cutting the chicken nuggets into bee shapes!) I thought I was going to use a carrot (as pictured below) but then decided to stick with celery. You could very easily substitute carrot sticks for celery sticks though!
The really fun part of preparing this meal was when it was time to “paint” the Tyson Chicken Nuggets with condiments like ketchup, mustard and barbecue sauce. The ketchup went onto the nugget that my tulip. The mustard went onto the nugget bumble bees. And the barbecue sauce was the stripes and eyes of the bumble bees.
My finished product with three bumble bees flying to my red tulip!
I was really pleased with this Tyson Chicken Nuggets Springtime meal! Not only is it colorful and fun, but I was able to sneak some veggies and quinoa into the meal! And don’t worry, just because I don’t have any kiddos yet, the food didn’t go to waste! Hubby enjoyed every last bite!
For more info on Tyson Foods, follow Tyson on Twitter @ClubTysonLive and “like” Tyson Chicken Nuggets on Facebook!
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Tyson. #cbias #SocialFabric #SpringtimeNuggets”. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..Read More Here...