Lemon Peeper Cookies

In my search for a fun, toddler-friendly treat to take to Morgan's school for her Easter party, I came across these! These have to be the cutest, easiest cookies I've ever made! I came across a similar idea on Pinterest, but the original recipe comes from Pillsbury and can be found HERE. There was no photo on the Pillsbury website, so I had to just wing it (no pun intended!) when it came to the decor. Being in the huge hurry that I always am, I had to make do with what I could dig up at our Wal-Mart (which I am convinced is THE world's worst...but that's another story for another day.) So here we go:

Lemon Peeper Cookies
Makes 12-18 cookies
(depending upon size)

1 box of lemon-flavored cake mix (or whatever flavor you want them to be)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Orange Tic-Tacs & chocolate chips (or other decor of your choosing)


Optional:
Yellow food coloring (to make brighter yellow)
Coconut or yellow sugar crystal sprinkles

1.  Combine cake mix, eggs, & oil in a large bowl and mix until dough forms.
2.  Add yellow food coloring (if desired).
3.  GREASE a cookie sheet.
4.  Roll a ball for the body (about 1 1/2") and a smaller ball for the head and put on cookie sheet touching each other.  (You may want to flatten them a little and mush the 2 balls together a little for a prettier end result.)
5.  Sprinkle with yellow sugar sprinkles.
6.  Bake for 10-12 min. at 350, or until they are barely starting to brown.
7.  Remove from oven & immediately add candy for faces.
8.  Cool on rack.


SEE!  Told you it was easy!

My Notes:
1.  If you add a lot of food coloring or it's really humid, you may need to add extra flour to the dough until it gets un-sticky enough for you to roll it into balls.  Otherwise, you'll just make a huge mess & get frustrated!
2.  The original recipe says to roll the balls in coconut flakes before putting them on the baking sheet.  I'm not big on coconut (and I didn't think toddlers would be, either), so I chose to use yellow sugar crystal sprinkles instead.
3.  The original recipe says to use pastel yellow petite mints (petite non pareils) for the beaks...but I couldn't find such a delicacy at Wal-Mart...so I went the orange Tic-Tac route!
4.  Per Melissa's suggestion on my Facebook page, these would also make great snowmen for winter!

Hope everyone has a HAPPY EASTER!!!

Skinny Cajun Chicken Linguine Alfredo

I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest...but it originally came from www.recipekitchen.net.  One bite & you'll never believe it's low fat!  If you like Pasta Milano from Macaroni Grill, or Cajun Chicken pasta from Chili's, you'll LOVE this!

Skinny Cajun Chicken Linguine Alfredo
Serves 4

1 lb. chicken, cut into chunks
6 oz. linguine, cooked al dente
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
3 tbsp reduced-fat butter
2 green onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (if using oil-packed, blot well w/ paper towels)
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
ground black pepper to taste

1.  Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.
2.  In a large nonsitck pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
3.  Add chicken pieces & cook chicken until no longer pink (5-7 minutes).
4.  Reduce heat, add green onions, milk, tomatoes, basil, garlic powder, and black pepper.
5.  Cook for a few minutes until heated through.
6.  Add cooked linguine to chicken mixture, add parmesean cheese, and stir to coat pasta.
7.  Divide among 4 pasta bowls & serve immediately.

My Notes:
1.  I didn't have any Cajun seasoning on hand, so I sprinkled on a little Old El Paso taco seasoning.  (I keep a big shaker of this in my pantry...you NEVER know when it will come in handy!)
2.  I used skim milk & it turned out great--you'd never know I used fat-free!
3.  I've found that sun-dried tomatoes are one of those love/hate kinds of ingredients.  If you don't like sun-dried tomatoes, I bet some chopped red peppers would be a delicious substitute!
4.  Next time, I think I might double up on the sauce mixture & try adding in some veggies like yellow squash, broccoli, or zucchini.