Ruth's Coconut Crust Key Lie Pie

Prep Time: 45 min

Serving: Yields 2 pies (16 slices)

Ingredients:

16 oz cool whip

14 oz  Bordens sweetened condensed milk

½ + cup key lime juice

16 cream filled vanilla sandwhich cookies (finely crushed)

1 cup packed sweetened coconut toasted 

6 TBSP butter melted

Raspberries (optional)

For the Crust:

Toast coconut at 325degress 5-10 minutes (watch closely).  Finely crush cookies.  Combine cookies and coconut in a bowl.  Add Melted butter.  Mix until even coated.  Firmly press into both pie tins.  Let chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes while you make filling.

For the Filling:

Combine cool whip (almost all of it, just leave enough for a dollop on each slice of pie), sweetened condensed milk, and lime juice.  Stir with large spoon until velvety.  Fill each pie crust.  Let chill for several hours in fridge.

Serving:

Spoon a dollop of cool whip onto each slice and top with a raspberry.

Meals for 1: Parmesan Pesto Pasta

I have found myself eating alone a lot lately on nights when I am not working late, and Sean is at one of his night classes.  I came up with this quick, easy, and yummy meal for one.  This can easily be modified to make for however many people you need to feed.  I think the best part is that the clean up is so easy.  You use one pot, one bowl, one spoon, one fork, and a colander.

Serving Size: 1

Cooking Time: 15 min         

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta (or any short fat noodle you like: penne, fussilli, bowtie, etc...)
• Frozen Broccoli (or fresh)
• Pesto (I like to freeze mine in its container so I can just scrape off what I need)
• Parmesan Cheese (from the plastic container you can just sprinkle on, or fresh)

Cooking:

Bring water to a boil.  Add in one serving of pasta (I just put enough in to almost fill up one cereal bowl, but this can vary depending on how hungry you are).  Cook al dante according to package (about 9 minutes) stirring occasionally.  After about 5 minutes, add in frozen broccoli, and continue boiling for the remaining 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Drain pasta and broccoli in colander.  In the meantime, scrape off about 1 spoonful (I used a large spoon) of frozen pesto into bowl.  Heat in microwave for about 10 seconds.  Add pasta/broccoli to bowl.  Toss with spoon you used to scrape pesto into bowl until pasta is lightly covered in pesto.  Dust (somewhat heavily) the parmesan cheese completely on top of the pasta.  Toss until pasta is evenly covered.  Enjoy!

Tips:

You may think this isn't enough pesto.  For me, it is.  I like that there is just a subtle hint of that delicious pesto flavor.  If this isn't enough for you, feel free to add more.  There is no wrong way to make this.

You can add chicken to this recipe to add some protein and make it more of a meal.

Baked Parmesan Kale Chips

I am posting this GREEN healthy recipe in honor of St. Patty's Day in a few weeks!


Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale (12 oz after removed from stems)
• 1 tsp olive oil (spray)
• a sprinkle of sea salt or kosher
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray two large baking sheets with oil.

Wash and thoroughly dry kale. Remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite sized pieces. 

Place on baking sheets, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Bake about 10-12 minutes, turning and moving them around as they shrink to make sure they evenly crisp up.   

Top with shredded parmesan cheese, keeping a close eye on them, bake an additional 5 to 6 minutes until the edges are crisp but not burnt. Time will vary depending on your oven.



Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/6th • Old Points: 1 pt • Points+: 1 pt
Calories: 50.2 • Fat: 2.8 g • Protein: 3.6 g • Carb: 3.4 g • Fiber: 1.1 g • Sugar: 0.7 g
Sodium: 126 mg (without salt)

(I got this recipe from skinnytaste.com, a great website with easy, healthy recipes!)