Roasted Fennel with Parmesan

2 large fennel bulbs, sliced into 4 to 8 wedges
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add fennel wedges and cook for 5 minutes. Drain well and let cool slightly. Place in a square pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss with oil.
Cook in oven for 30 minutes or until fennel pierces easily with a fork. Sprinkle with Parmesan and roast for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Pine Nut Couscous

Here's a great side dish that's really easy. If you haven't tried couscous before, now's the time!

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. olive oil or butter
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 Tbs. parsley
1/4 cup pine nuts

Bring broth, salt, and oil (or butter) to boil. Stir in couscous, parsley, and pine nuts. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. DO NOT OPEN, YET!!! Let sit for 4-5 minutes. Then stir to fluff up and serve. Makes about 5 1/2 cup servings.

Pumpkin Pudding

If you like pumpkin pie, you'll like this, and it's super easy and very healthy!

1 package sugar-free instant pudding
2 cups cold milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
whipped cream or light coolwhip
nutmeg

Mix pudding mix and milk with a whisk until all lumps are dissolved. Then add pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla and whisk until mixed thoroughly. Spoon mixture into 6 bowls or leave it in one bowl. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Top with whipped cream or cool whip and nutmeg. See. Super easy!

Apple-Squash Mash

There are a couple ways you can make this. Here's the way I made it..........
Cut an acorn squash in half, place in a cake pan with about 1/2 an inch of water in the bottom, put in the oven at 350. Then go fall asleep on the couch. Wake up when the squash is baked, take out of oven and set aside. Then mix the following:
4 apples (peeled an chopped)
1/2 cup chopped cashews (or nuts of your choice)
2 tbs. butter (softened)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (or until apples just start to soften).
In the meantime, scoop the baked squash out of the skin and mash up in a bowl. When apple mixture is done, add it to the squash and stir it up.

If I hadn't fallen asleep I would have let the squash bake for about 30 minutes, put the apple mixture in the squash centers and baked it all together. It looks prettier that way, although, it tastes better all mashed together. I used a lot of apples because squash is not a favorite at my house :( , but if you want to bring out the flavor of the squash more, make less of the apple mixture.

Thanks to Rebecca for sharing the inspiration for this dish! Sorry the picture doesn't do it justice.

Taco Casserole

Brown one pound ground beef. Drain and then mix in 1 packet taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water. Cook until it thickens. Add desired amounts of corn and sliced olives, and one one can drained kidney beans. Put into casserole dish. Mix up 1 corn bread mix (jiffy) as the package instructs. Pour evenly over beef mixture. Bake at 350 for about 1/2 an hour or until cornbread is golden brown. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and taco sauce.

Fruit pizza

Looks and tastes DELICIOUS!!!!

Ingredients:
1 - 1 1/2 rolls sugar cookie dough
1 1/2 packages low fat cream cheese
lemon juice
powdered sugar
fruit (strawberries, pineapple ring, bananas (sliced and dipped in lemon or pineapple juice), oranges, kiwi, cherries, blueberries, etc.)
melted chocolate to drizzle over top (optional)

Directions:
Spread cookie dough evenly on pizza pan and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (about 15 minutes, but watch it carefully!!!). Let cool.
Mix cream cheese with lemon juice and powdered sugar to desired taste and consistency (I like it more tart to offset the sweetness of the fruit). Spread on pizza cookie.
Slice fruit and arrange it BEAUTIFULLY on the cookie.
Melt chocolate and drizzle over the top. (optional)

Fresh Caramel Apple Pie

This is HEAVENLY!!! And it's a crock pot recipe!!!! And it's EASY!!!!! It does take a long time (the crock pot part), but it's so worth it!!!!

Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 graham cracker crust
2 granny smith apples
Lemon juice and water bath for apples
1/2 container Cool Whip
1 Heath Bar, chopped

Directions:
Pour milk into a 2-cup glass measure and cover with foil. Place in crock pot and add very hot water to crock pot to reach level of milk in measure. Cover and cook on LOW 9 hours (milk should be caramel colored). Stir well with a whisk or fork.
Peel and chop apples into thin, small pieces. pour water bath over the apples, to prevent browning. Drain apples, and pat them dry. Fill pie crust, about halfway, with apples (you may have some left over). Pour caramel, evenly, over top of apples. Refrigerate until caramel is cool. Spread whipped topping over pie; sprinkle with chopped candy bar.