Raspberry Almond Pizza

1 lb pizza dough
¼ cup raspberry jam
1/3 cup cream cheese
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
Raspberries, sliced almonds and confectioner’s sugar for topping

Oven at 450. Roll out pizza dough into a 12” round. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake on a hot baking sheet until golden, about 8 minutes. Brush with the raspberry jam and bake 2 more minutes. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together. Spread over the pizza and top with additional raspberries, toasted almonds and confectioners’ sugar.

Four Cheese Pasta Florentine

3 cups uncooked pasta
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup Cottage Cheese
2 eggs
1 pkg (8 oz) Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon salt

Oven at 375ºF.

Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook spinach as directed on package; drain well. Place in large bowl. Add cream cheese and salt; stir until melted. Stir in cottage cheese and eggs until well blended.

Drain pasta. Add to spinach mixture with mozzarella; mix lightly. Spoon into 8- or 9-inch square baking dish; top with Parmesan.

Bake 25 min. or until center is set.

Creamy Baked Pasta

4 cups pasta, uncooked
1 jar (26 oz.) marinara sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
4 oz (1/2of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, cubed
3/4 cup sour Cream
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/3 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Oven at 375ºF.

Cook pasta as directed on package. Remove from pot; drain. Meanwhile, in a large pan, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Return pasta to pan; mix well.

Layer half the pasta mixture in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

First Birthday Banana Sour Cream Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup oil

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese , softened (full fat or reduced fat)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar
1 cup finely chopped walnuts**

Oven at 350°F. Beat first 5 ingredients with mixer on low speed just until moistened, stopping frequently to scrape bottom and side of bowl. Beat on medium speed 2 min. Pour into greased and floured 13x9-inch pan. (Or you may choose to use 2 9-inch circle pans) Bake 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (If using circle pans, follow cooking time on box.) Cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and butter with mixer until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition.

Remove cake from pan. Carefully cut cake crosswise in half using serrated knife. Place 1 cake half, top-side down, on plate; spread with some of the cream cheese frosting. Top with remaining cake half, top-side up. Spread top and sides with remaining frosting. Press nuts into sides. Keep refrigerated. (If using circle pans, frost traditionally, using nuts if wanted).

**Note-Since this was a first birthday cake for my son, we omitted the nuts.
**Note-I made this for two separate birthday parties and both time got rave reviews!

Peanut Butter Cup Pie

1-8oz package of cream cheese, softened
½ c plus 1 T creamy peanut butter, divided
1 c cold milk
1 package (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding
2 ½ c cool whip topping, divided
1 chocolate pie crust
3 oz chocolate (either Baker's chocolate or chocolate chips work too)

Beat cream cheese and ½ c peanut butter until well blended. Add milk and dry pudding mix, beat 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup cool whip. Spoon into crust and refrigerate until ready to use. Meanwhile, microwave remaining cool whip and chocolate in a bowl on high, 1 ½-2 minutes, or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Check after one minute, stirring after checking. Cool chocolate completely. Spread the chocolate mixture over pudding layer in the crust (on top). Microwave the remaining peanut butter in a small measuring cup, about 30 second, stir. Drizzle over pie. Refrigerate 4 hours, or until firm.

Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Fruit Dip

1/4 cup Cream Cheese, softened
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together and serve with cut up fruit of your choice.

**Note-I love this recipe because it can help you use up left over cream cheese, which, at my house, I never know what to do with and also it's a great dip to entice your children to eat their fruit-especially for a snack!
**Note-Using the milk makes it a more runny dip, so if you'd like yours a bit more solid, use less milk to start out with and add more as necessary.

Creamy Pasta Primavera

3 cups Penne pasta, uncooked
2 tablespoons light Italian Dressing
2 zucchini, cut into chunks
1-1/2 cups cut-up fresh asparagus (1-inch lengths)
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, heat dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add vegetables; cook 5-7 min. or until veggies have softened stirring frequently. Add broth and cream cheese; cook 1 min. or until cheese is melted, stirring constantly. Add Parmesan cheese; mix well. Drain pasta; return to pot. Add vegetable mixture; toss lightly. Cook 1 min. or until heated through. (Sauce will thicken upon standing.)

**Note-may substitute any veggies you have leftover and need to use up.

Quinoa Primavera

1 1/2 cups uncooked Quinoa
3 cups chicken broth
4oz cream cheese
1 tablespoon. chopped fresh basil
2 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 cups thinly sliced or bite sized pieces assorted uncooked vegetables (such as asparagus, broccoli, carrot, or zucchini)
2 tablespoon Romano cheese

In sauce pan heat quinoa and broth to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until all broth is absorbed. Stir in cream cheese and basil.

In 10 inch non-skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook garlic in butter about 30 seconds, stirring frequently, until golden. Stir in vegetables. Cook 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender.

In skillet, toss vegetables and quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with Romano cheese.

Healthy Potato Skins

Serves 2

2 medium potatoes (baking or sweet-your choice)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bag baby spinach (or about one cup frozen, thawed and squeezed out)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
4 ounces low-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Oven at 350 degrees. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and onto an oven rack. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until fork-tender. (You can also microwave them until they are tender. Whichever way you choose, make sure the potato is tender otherwise it will be very difficult to make the rest of the recipe.) Meanwhile, in a deep saute pan heat the olive oil and cook the onion for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add the entire bag of spinach and scallions, cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the spinach has wilted. When the potatoes are cooked, let them cool for 5 minutes. Carefully slice each one in half and scoop out inside of potato into a bowl. Add cream cheese, buttermilk, salt and pepper, and mash together until smooth. Mix the potato mash with the reserved, cooked veggies. Using a pastry brush, coat the outside of each potato skin with the vegetable oil. Fill each of the shells with the filling and top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Transfer each skin back to the baking sheet and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the skins are crispy.

**Note-this was one of the most amazing meals I have ever had. I couldn't believe how tasty it was! It is a bit of work, but the end result is so worth it. I recommend doubling the recipe so that you can have extras for later in the week.