Chef Marie: Baking and Cooking

The other day I was trying to think of something healthy to make for dinner, but I wanted it to have cheese. I love cheese. Then it hit me, a quesadilla!! Quesadillas are so delicious! After some web browsing, I decided to make a Spinach Tomato Pesto Quesadilla. Here is what you'll need: - 1 cup of spinach - 1/2 of a tomato - 1/4 cup shredded cheese - 1 tsp. pesto - 1 whole grain tortilla Directions: 1. Spread the pesto on one side of the tortilla. 2. Place the chopped tomato, spinach leafs, and cheese inside. 3. Fold the tortilla and place in a frying pan. Cook on each side for a few minutes.  Enjoy!! These are tasty and so easy to make!   

Happy Holidays! Here is a recipe for Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies. These cookies are perfect for Christmas or New Years parties. I gave my grandparents a whole tin of them as a present. These are delicious, but they do require about 5 hours to make, since the dough has to be chilled. I found this recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction . Check out her site for more recipes!  The ingredients are listed in the picture below.  The result is a buttery, flavorful cookie! The cherries give the cookies a burst of flavor. I didn't have any white chocolate, but they were delicious without it! Make sure you do not bake them too much, or they will not be very soft. ENJOY!

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars are delicious! You have to try them. I found the recipe on Pinterest, and it is easy to make. This recipe works great for fall, since it that time of the year when everyone craves pumpkin! The original creator of this recipe can be found at Averie Cooks . Here is what you'll need: - 1/ 2 cup unsalted butter, melted - 1 large egg - 3/4 cup pumpkin puree - 1 cup light brown sugar - 1 tablespoon vanilla extract - 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon - 1 1/4 cups flour - 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on the top    Directions: Preheat oven to 350F Line an baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray.  Melt the butter in a large bowl, about 1 minute. Wait for the butter to cool down. Add the egg, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and whisk until smooth. Add the flour and stir. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips. Smoot...

I  got this recipe idea from a Salmon with Summer Salsa recipe from Kayla Itsines' nutrition guide. It is pretty easy to make, and it's very nutritious!  Ingredients: (makes 1 serving) - 2 salmon fillets (frozen) - 1/2 of a cucumber  - 1/2 of a tomato - 1/4 of an avocado - 1/4 or less of a red onion - dill (sprinkle it) - chives (sprinkle it) - lemon juice  - 1/2 cup cooked brown rice Directions: - Preheat oven to 400 degrees - Cook rice - Bake salmon - Dice tomato, cucumber, avocado, onion, chives and dill; mix in a medium bowl - Sprinkle lemon juice on top of salsa mix -  Place cooked salmon on top of the rice - Add salsa on top  There you have it! A delicious salmon dinner! Check out Kayla Itsines' website and products for more recipes.

These Healthy Banana Oat Cookies are delicious! You only need a few ingredients, so they are really easy to make! Here's what you'll need: - 2 ripe bananas - 1 cup of quick oats - 1 Tbs. peanut butter (if not using peanut butter filled chocolate chips) - 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I used peanut butter filled chocolate chips) Directions: - Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together; mash the bananas. Using a spoon, drop them onto a greased pan. Bake them for 15 minutes. Enjoy!!

This Healthy Spinach Lasagna is delicious! There is no meat, but with the seasoned flavorful spinach and cheeses, you do not need any meat. I found this recipe at Pinch of Yum , but I altered it a little bit. I used less ricotta cheese because I forgot to buy more, but it tasted great that way! Here's what you'll need: - 2 Tbs. butter - 1 Tbs. minced garlic - 2 tsp. minced fresh thyme - 6 oz. fresh spinach (about 1 bag) - 2 lbs. ricotta cheese (I only used 1 lb., which is one container) - 1 egg - 1/2 tsp. salt - 1/4 tsp. nutmeg - 1 squeeze of lemon juice - 12 oven ready lasagna noodles - 1 24 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce - 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese Instructions (from Pinch of Yum): 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and thyme, saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and saute for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. 3. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, salt, nutmeg, and the le...

It was a boring Thursday afternoon, so I decided to make some donuts! I have never made donuts before, so I thought, why not? My sister found the recipe at: OhSheGlows.com. They are reasonably healthy donuts, they are not fried, and they are easy to make. Here is what you'll need: Dry 1 Cup All Purpose Flour 1/2 Cup Sugar 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/4 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 1/4 tsp Cinnamon Wet 1/2 Cup Soymilk (I used milk) 1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar (I used white vinegar) 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 1 Egg  4 Tbs butter or margarine Icing Glaze 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 Tbsp milk Sprinkles Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Take  the wet ingredients and put in a small pot on the stove on low. Whisk. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix. Put the batter into the donut pans. I used a muffin pan, since I do not have a donut pan. Bake them for 12 minutes. Makes about 20 (mine made 12) Icing: Combine the p...