VALLEY — Following are some of tasty recipes courtesy of the Western Dairy Association:

White Cheddar, Apple, Bacon Quesadilla

Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tortillas, whole grain, or gluten-free if desired

White cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

Green apples, thinly sliced

3-4 slices of bacon, cooked

Butter Directions:

Assemble apple slices, cooked bacon and cheddar cheese on a tortilla. Top with a second tortilla.

Microwave on high 45 seconds to one minute, or until the cheese begins to melt.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and lightly butter the pan.

Place the quesadilla in the pan and cook for approximately one minute, or until the tortilla begins to turn golden brown. Flip and cook second side until golden brown.

Let cool, cut into wedges and enjoy!

Heirloom Caprese Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1/2 pound uncooked pasta

4 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 large heirloom tomato

1 cup fresh Mozzarella cheese (small cubes)

1/2 cup chopped basil

Aged balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare dry pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, keep warm.

Melt butter in a medium pan. Add flour and cook on low for 5 minutes. Wisk in half and half thoroughly. Simmer for 5 minutes. Wisk in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and simmer for an additional minute.

Slice tomato into 4 nice slices. Dice the remaining tomato.

In a medium bowl, combine cooked pasta, cheese sauce, fresh Mozzarella, chopped basil, and diced tomato. Place mixture in a greased baking dish. Top with tomato slices and an additional sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes. Finish with chopped basil, and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.

No-Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Prep time: 25 minutes

Total time: 5-8 hours

This recipe is adapted from the No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Food Network Kitchen.

Ingredients:

One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pinch of fine salt

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups heavy cream, cold

1 pint of strawberries, greens removed, and halved

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup crushed graham crackers

Directions:

Place a metal loaf pan in the freezer and chill.

In a food processor, gently blend condensed milk, vanilla, salt and cream cheese until smooth. Set aside.

Whip the heavy cream with a mixer on medium-high speed until firm peaks form. Fold about 1 cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Then fold the lightened milk mixture into the whipped cream until well blended. Pour into the chilled loaf pan and freeze covered, about 2 hours.

While the ice cream is beginning to freeze, combine strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until strawberries are soft, approximately 10 minutes. Once soft, mash with a fork or potato masher until consistency resembles a puree. Cool in the refrigerator.

After the 2 hours has passed, swirl in the strawberry puree and the crushed graham crackers with a spoon. Continue to freeze, covered, until solid and scoopable, approximately 3-6 more hours.

Warm Spinach

Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

14 oz (1 can) artichoke hearts

10 oz (1 box) frozen spinach

12 oz shredded parmesan cheese

2-3 cloves minced garlic

1/3 c whole fat plain yogurt

8 oz (1 box) softened cream cheese

2/3 c sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 x 8 pan.

Chop up artichoke hearts in food processor.

Mix artichoke hearts with spinach and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix garlic, yogurt, cream cheese and sour cream.

Gradually add the yogurt/cream cheese mixture to the spinach mixture.

Once mixed, spoon into pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve.

Suggestions for serving: crackers, toasted bread, carrots, celery, bell peppers, etc.

Apple-Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup oat flour

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

2 Tbsp flaxseed meal

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 large egg

6 oz. container plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

1 Honeycrisp apple (or apple of your choosing), chopped into small pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin wrappers or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine egg, yogurt, applesauce, brown sugar, vanilla and milk.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir until just combined.

Fold in chopped apples.

Divide batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each to 3/4 full. Add a sprinkle of oats and/or brown sugar to the top of each muffin if desired.

Bake muffins for 20-22 minutes, or until top is firm to the touch and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for approximately 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Created by registered dietitian Jenna Allen with inspiration from http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2015/01/21/apple-oat-greek-yogurt-muffins/.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Makes 4 portions

Ingredients (Pancakes)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup 1% low fat milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 egg

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt

Ingredients (Toppings)

2 cups low fat vanilla yogurt

1 cup raisins

Directions

In a small mixing bowl, briskly combine vanilla yogurt and raisins until yogurt becomes looser texture. Reserve. For the pancakes, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, pumpkin, and yogurt, mixing well.

Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir until just moist. Do not overmix. Batter may be lumpy. For thinner batter, add milk. Lightly coat a griddle or skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Using a quarter-cup measure, pour batter onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles begin to burst, then flip pancakes and cook until golden.

Serve warm, topped with yogurt-raisin mixture and dusting of cinnamon.

Recipe created by Elizabeth Ward on behalf of 3-Every-Day™ of Dairy

Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 pound lean ground beef

1 yellow onion, diced

2 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 14-ounce jar traditional pasta sauce

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 14.5-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon oregano

2 whole bay leaves

Salt and pepper, to taste

8-10 ounces penne or rotini noodles

Fresh basil

Cottage cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, and finely grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions:

Preheat a skillet on the stove top over medium heat. Add beef and diced onions and cook, stirring often, until beef is browned and onions are translucent. Drain off excess fat.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute, or until fragrant.

In a stockpot, combine beef/onion/garlic/red pepper mixture with pasta sauce, chicken broth, diced and crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, parsley, oregano and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.

While the stockpot is simmering, cook the pasta per package directions. Toss pasta with a drizzle of olive oil once cooked and drained.

To serve, scoop 1/4 to 1/3 cup of cottage cheese into each bowl. Sprinkle the cottage cheese with mozzarella, then add a helping of cooked noodles. Ladle the warm soup over the top and garnish with fresh chopped basil and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

* Because the soup and noodles are cooked separately, the soup freezes and reheats very well. Just cook fresh pasta for the leftovers.

Chicken Fiesta Roll Ups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c Sour Cream

2 c Shredded Cheese

4-5 Cooked Chicken Breasts (no spices), shredded (boiled chicken works best)

1 tbsp Taco Seasoning

Tortillas

1 can Red Enchilada Sauce

1 can Green Chili Enchilada Sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Grease a 9 x 13 pan, pour 1/2 of each can of enchilada sauce on the bottom

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, cheese, chicken and taco seasoning (save a little cheese to sprinkle over top)

Scoop chicken mixture into tortillas, roll up and line in pan – make enough to fill the entire pan

Pour remainder of the enchilada sauce over the top of the roll ups

Sprinkle remaining cheese over top of roll ups

Bake in oven for 20 minutes

Let cool for 5-10 minutes

Serve with sour cream, salsa or guacamole

OPTIONAL: Sprinkle green onions over top of roll ups before baking if desired.

Caption: No-Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream  Courtesy photo