Friday Foodday

We made it! Happy Friday! I hope you have a fabulous weekend! Here are my favorite recipes for this week.

Skillet Chocolate Sheet Cake
c/o Kitchen Bellicious

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
dash salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the Topping:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 tablespoons cocoa
3-4 tablespoons milk (as needed for consistency)
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt together and set aside.

In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, bring the butter, vegetable oil, cocoa powder, and water to a boil. Remove it from the heat and whisk in the dry ingredients well. Mix in the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. Bake the skillet cake at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

While the cake starts to cool, make the frosting. In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil. Remove them from heat and add the icing sugar, nuts, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over the warm cake, spread with a spatula.

Lighter Veggie Alfredo Pasta

c/o Stephanie Cooks

Ingredients

1 pound pasta, any shape
Cooking spray
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces mushrooms, diced
1 jar roasted red peppers, sliced into thin strips
2 cups baby spinach
1 jar Classico Light Asiago Romano Alfredo sauce
Salt and pepper

Directions
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Cook the pasta according to packaging directions.
2- Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Add garlic, stirring for about one minute. Add the mushrooms, cook until soft. Add the red peppers and spinach.
3- Add the sauce, stir well, season with salt and pepper. Allow to cook together for 5-7 minutes.
4- Drain the pasta, toss the pasta with the sauce and veggie mixture.
5- Transfer to a 9x13 dish, bake 15-20 minutes.

Stuffed Pepper Soup
c/o Skinny Taste

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 lb 95% lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) cans petite diced tomatoes
• 1 3/4 cups tomato sauce
• 2 cups reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot or dutch oven, brown ground meat on high heat and season with salt.Drain fat if any, reduce heat to medium-low, then add peppers, onions and garlic.Cook about 5 minutes on low heat.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, marjoram and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Serve about 1 1/3 cups of soup in each bowl and top with 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.