Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert

12 Nutter Butter cookies, divided
2 tablespoons melted butter
8 oz. Cream cheese, softened
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 oz. Whipped topping, thawed, divided
2 squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Crush 8 cookies finely and mix with butter. Press onto bottom of a foil-lined 9x5” loaf pan. Beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Whisk in 3 cups of thawed whipped topping; spoon ½ cup of mixture into a small bowl and blend in melted chocolate. Spoon half the remaining cream cheese mixture over crust; top with the chocolate mixture. Spoon remaining cream cheese layer over top of chocolate layer. Freeze 4 hours. Invert onto place, remove foil, then invert again on serving plate so crumb layer is on the bottom. Coarsely break remaining cookies; top dessert with remaining whipped topping and broken cookies.

Tri-Pepper Pasta Salad

Tri-Pepper Pasta Salad

1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise with olive oil
1/3 cup light balsamic vinaigrette dressing
2 ½ cups cooked whole wheat medium shell pasta
1 each red, green, and yellow pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Whisk together mayonnaise and dressing; combine with other ingredients and mix.

Rock On Rotini

Rock On Rotini

14 ½ oz. Pkg. Rotini pasta
¾ cup yellow onion
¾ cup diced green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, pressed
14 ½ oz. Can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
8 oz. Can tomato sauce
4 ½ oz. Jar sliced mushrooms, drained
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
8 oz. Pkg. Italian 6-cheese blend
5 oz. Pkg. Miniature pepperoni

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cook pasta by package directions, drain. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Lightly spray with cooking spray; add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms and Italian seasoning; cook for one minute. Reserve ¾ cup cheese. Combining remaining cheese, cooked pasta, vegetable mixture and pepperoni; toss well. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover casserole with nonstick foil. Bake 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Uncover and sprinkle with reserved ¾ cup cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Spinach Ranch Dip

Spinach Ranch Dip

1 cup light sour cream
¼ cup light ranch dressing
10 oz. Pkg. Frozen chopped spinach, thawed & well drained
1 carrot, shredded
½ cup finely chopped yellow peppers
Wheat Thins multi-grain snack crackers

Mix sour cream and dressing in medium bowl until well blended. Stir in vegetables; serve dip with crackers.

Crunchy Chicken Noodle Salad

Crunchy Chicken Noodle Salad

1 pkg. Ramen noodles (discard flavor packet)
1 ½ cups diced cooked chicken
6 radishes, thinly sliced
1 orange, peeled and diced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 cup snow peas, chopped
½ cup coarsely chopped unsalted cashews
16 oz. Pkg. Coleslaw mix
¾ cup sesame ginger dressing

Break uncooked ramen into small pieces in large bowl. Combine with chicken, radishes, orange, scallion, snow peas, cashews and coleslaw. Toss salad with dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 25 minutes to one hour.