Zucchini Herb Casserole

I love zucchini and luckily so does my hubs.  I mostly love it grilled or in stir fries but I thought I would try it in a casserole.  I found this excellent recipe at my favorite site, AllRecipes.com and we absolutely LOVED it.  Luckily I made a double batch and were able to eat it the next day as well.  I made it as stated but used instant rice since I was in a hurry and was hungry. 

I love this recipe and will for sure make it again.  It is great as a complete vegetarian meal or if you add ham, sausage or something else, I bet it would be equally yummy.

If you were to make this recipe, it would excite you!  The colors are amazing!  I don't know why but a colorful dish always does it for me.

Lasagna Rollups

I love this recipe because I usually have all the ingredients on hand besides the ricotta so it's an economical, delicious dinner.  For some reason I find making lasagna in this fashion is much easier then the traditional way with layers.  I find that when I do the layers I never have enough ricotta to spread it out enough to cover the entire dish.  Also, this makes for better portion control as you cannot just cut off a bigger piece....you have to take a roll.

I am including a meatless version because I made this on a Friday during Lent.  I would usually add ground beef, ground turkey or some kind of sausage.  

I don't measure when I make this so I am giving approximations.  You really cannot screw it up.

Well here is what you need:
(12) lasagna noodles cooked according to pkg. directions
(1) jar of your favorite pasta sauce
(1) 30 oz container of Ricotta cheese
(1) cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
(1.5) cups of shredded Mozarella Cheese
(2) eggs
(1) tsp. of Italian seasoning
(1) tbs. of olive oil
(1/2) cup of diced onions
(1) tsp. of minced garlic
(1.5) cups of steamed broccoli, chopped
(2) cups of fresh mushrooms, diced

Preheat oven to 350.

To begin, spread (1) cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.  Then, mix the Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozarella cheeses in a mixing bowl along with the Italian seasoning and eggs.  Next, heat a pan and add the oil. Saute the garlic and onions.  Add the mushrooms and steamed broccoli and cook for a few minutes until the mushrooms are tender and the flavors are combined.  Add the contents of the pan to the cheese.mixture and stir.  Lay a cooked noodle flat and spread the mixture along one side.  Roll then noodle until you reach the end.  Place the rollup seam side down in the making dish.  Repeat until you run out of noodles.   Top each roll evenly with the remaining sauce.  Bake for 45 minutes. 

Voila!  You're done.  This is a great make ahead or freezer meal.

Try this out and let me know how you like it!

Here is the mixture spread on the noodle.

Here it is all rolled up.

Ready for baking.  I always make an extra smaller dish to give away. 

This time, my father in law, Ron and Faye, Clint's wonderful step-mom were the receivers.

Goulash

What you need for this recipe is likely things you already have in your pantry, fridge and spice rack.  Goulash for me is a huge comfort food.  I personally don't like butter but this is one of two meals I always have to have a slice of buttered white bread with.  (The other one is roast).

Let's get started.  Go grab these items:
1 lb. of lean ground beef
1.5  cup macaroni
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper,chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
(2) 14.5 ounce cans of stewed, sliced tomatoes
(1) 14.5 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 tbs. Chili powder
Salt, Pepper and Italian Seasoning, to taste.

First, preheat your oven to 350.  In the meantime, brown your ground beef along with the onions, green bell pepper and garlic.  Drain grease. Cook macaroni as directed on pkg.  Add cooked macaroni, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices to beef mixture.

Transfer to a casserole dish and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes.

Voila! It's that simple...and is so yummy.  Enjoy.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Here is the best Chicken Salad recipe ever.
What you need is the following:
3 cups cooked chicken
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 apple, chopped
1/3 cup of dried cherries
1/4 cup of chopped pecans
1/3 cup of mayo
1 tbs. buttermilk
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge for half hour.  Serve on a croissant or in a multi-grain sandwich pocket as a healthier option.
I often substitute grapes (cut in half) for the apples and use a rotisserie chicken for ease.
Enjoy!  Perfect for lunches or to take on a picnic or day outing.

Judy's Strawberry Pretzel Salad

For the most part, when I plan a dessert I go one way or the other.  I either want it to have some kind of fresh fruit in it or have no healthy stuff in it at all.  In my mind, the first justifies all the sweet stuff that is also included.  Monday night I made this recipe.  I don't know why it is called a salad.  There is nothing salady  (is that a word)? about it.  Regardless, it was delicious and of course made with mostly items I had on hand.  I did make a few minor changes though.

The dessert is basically three layers; the crust, a cream cheese mixture and then jello/strawberry mixture.

Here are the ingredients I used for the crust as instructed

1.5 cups of crushed pretzels. 
4.5 tbs of white sugar
3/4 cup melted butter

You mix the pretzels and sugar in a bowl.  Pour the melted butter on top and stir.  Press the mixture to the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  I used glass.  Bake this at 350 for ten minutes...no more!  So many of the reviews for this recipe said to make sure you don't go over the ten minutes.  The crust may not look done, but it is.  Let it cool.

Rather than move on to the cream section, I changed the steps a bit since I was using fresh strawberries rather than frozen.  I washed the strawberries, sliced them and placed them in a bowl.  I sprinkled with a little sugar so some juice would be released. to make it more similar to the frozen version which contains juice.

 I moved on to the cream cheese section which I used the following ingredients.

(2) 8 oz blocks of cream cheese
(1) cup of sugar
(2) tbs of vanvilla extract
(1) 8 oz container of Cool Whip

The original recipe does not call for the vanilla....but I knew it would be better if I added it.  You blend the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together til smooth.  Then, fold in the cool whip.  Spread this over the cooled crust making sure that none of the jello mixture you will be working on next can seep through to the crust which will make it soggy.  Lastly, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Cream Cheese, Sugar and Vanilla Extract.

Those three ingredients blended.

With the Cool Whip folded in.

Spread over the crust.

Next, for the final layer.  You need the following:
(1) 6 oz pkg. of Strawberry jello
(2) cups boiling water
sliced strawberries with juice from above

Dissolve the jello in the boiling water.  Add your strawberries.  I waited a bit before adding mine to the hot liquid.  I let it sit about 10 minutes or so before adding them.  I didn't want them to turn mushy.  After mixing, pour the mixture on top of the cream cheese layer.  Refrigerate for an hour or til set.  I did mine late at night, so it had the entire night to set. 

We had it the following night and it was delish!

This is one to try.  You can use the original recipe found here or use my version with fresh strawberries and the added vanilla.  Either way it is yum.  Also, if you're not a strawberry fan, I am sure it would be good with raspberry jello and raspberries as well.  Get creative.

Fool proof menu planning.

I have a method that I use for menu planning in our house.  I have a notebook which contains a menu for six days on each page.  I have about 12-15 pages. That is about 75-90 main recipes total.  Each page has a variety of meals.  For each week there is usually a meal with the main entree of beef, pasta, pork, fish, vegertarian and chicken paired witha grain and veggie.  If all of these aren't covered than whatever is missing is usually replaced by having chicken additional days.  (My fave protein)!  I just rotate in no particular order through these recipes.  I have listed where the recipe are located under the title so I know where I can find them easily.  If there is no location, then it's my own personal recipe that I know from memory.  Also, I have a dessert listed every two days.  So we will have the same dessert two days in a row or if there is no dessert it is replaced with fresh fruit.

I must mention that each week there is a "REALLY" simple, casual recipe on one of the days.  For example, this week it is Pesto Chicken Panini's on focaccia bread.  I am pairing it with homemade baked potato soup.  The paninis are easy peasy.  Simply stacking the ingredients on the bread and cooking long enough on the George Foreman grill to melt the cheese and heat thoroughly.  Also, this week I am making this Cherry Chicken Salad.  I am taking the easy way out and just buying a rotisserie chicken to make both of the recipes.  Cuts down on time spent actually cooking.  All I have to do is chop some veggies and mix with the remaining ingredients on both days!  How clever?

A great thing about this system is that you have a list of what you are making for an entire week right in front of you.  You can look at the weekly grocery sales ads and choose a weeks worth of meals from your notebook and choose based on what is on sale that week.  Genius!  It cuts costs and lets you plan in advance.  I find that this system saves me so much thinking.  I am making my grocery list much earlier and sticking to it because I really do not need anything more than what is on it to feed the family for an entire week.  Most of the recipes I use include pantry items that I already have on hand, so I just need to get the proteins and veggies I need.  The only items I tend to buy not on my list are household items or the things Clint needs on a weekly basis which consists of a gallon of chocolate milk and white milk, tons of protein bars, a loaf of bread, peanut butter with omega-3's, a bunch of bananas, a dozen eggs that he boils, Gatorade and Ensure protein drinks.  This is literally the list of items he takes to work with him every week!  He is so healthy and disciplined.  I am so lucky to reap the rewards of it...he's so smoking hot. 

Back to the subject of menu planning.....

You are probably wondering why I don't have seven days listed on each page rather than six.  I only do six because there are usually left overs from one of the days or we are simply not home or go out to eat. 

I am wondering if anyone else has a method for menu planning different than what I described above?  If so, I would love to hear it. 

Another Chicken Recipe.

If you haven't noticed yet, we eat a lot of chicken in our home.  It's most likely because I am the cook and it's my fave protein, so I have the final say.  Isn't that wonderful?

Well here is a go to recipe that our family loves.  It's so simple and easy and requires so few ingredients, it is genius. 

I have no pictures to post because when we had this for dinner last week with mashed potatoes and gravy with corn--we devoured it all too quickly to snap even one photo. 

All you need is (3) chicken breast, flattened, half of a brick of cream cheee, softened, (2) tbs. of finely chopped onion and (3) green onions, chopped.  You may sprinkle with a little bit of seasoned salt if desired.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Mix the cream cheese, onions and green onions in a bowl.  Place equal amounts of the mixture in the center of the chicken breasts.  Wrap the chicken around the cheese mixture and place in baking pan with seam down.  Sprinkle with seasoned salt.  Bake for 45 minutes.

This turns out so yummy and delicious.  It is so economical to make as well.  Really, it's maybe about $4-$5 to serve three people!  Yould never would never know it because it looks so fancy on the plate.

If you are craving a little more punch, I have in the past chopped leftover bacon and added it to the mixture.  If I just have defrosted bacon, I wrap the chicken as the last step with a strip of bacon before baking.  Yummy to my tummy!

As a side note--this is a recipe that I have made in a batch and frozen as well.  I follow all the same steps but when it comes time to bake, I place the chicken in a freezer bag and freeze for upto 2 months.  You can secure the chicken shut with a toothpick or wrap in plastic wrap if desired.

Yummy Italian

Here is another go to recipe for all of you looking for an easy quick meal. 

It is really so easy and the way that it is set up makes the prep and clean up easy peasy.  This recipe is for (4) servings so make adjustments accordingly.  I almost always make my meals to serve 4-6 even though there is only three of us.  Clint loves leftovers for lunch the next day and Jude is the same so it saves me a prep for the following day.  On this day, I only made enough for three since I knew Clint was going to have a snow day the following day.  (Yay)!

Let's get started.

Ingredients:
(1) tbs. of oil
(4) chicken breasts
(2) eggs
(2) cups of bread crumbs (I use Italian flavored)
(1/2) cup of parmesan cheese
(1) jar or your fave spaghetti sauce
(1) ball of fresh mozarella cheese, sliced
(1) Angel hair pasta (or your favorite kind)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start out by beating the eggs in a shallow bowl.  Mix the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in another shallow bowl or plate.  Heat a the oil in a pan over medium high heat.  Dip the chicken breast in the eggs and then coat with the bread crumb/parmesan cheese mixture.  Place the chicken in the pan and brown for approximately 4-5 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of your chicken. 

While your chicken is cooking, pour the pasta sauce in a 9 x 13 baking pan.  Once the chicken is complete place on top of the sauce.  Then top with a slice of the mozarella cheese.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

In the meantime, cook your pasta.  Once the chicken is complete, plate your pasta and top with sauce and a piece of delicious chicken covered in yummy melted mozarella.

A couple of hints:
-If you don't have Italian bread crumbs, use regular and stir in some Italian seasoning.
-If you don't want to get a ball of cheese, you can use shredded mozarella.
-Wash your prep dishes while your chicken is in the oven and your pasta is cooking.  That way after dinner you are not overwhelmed.
-I make a salad with the left over mozarella.  I slice the remaining and pair it will sliced roma tomatoes and chopped fresh basil.  I drizzle with Italian dressing!  YUM!
-Here is my biggest pasta prep secret.  Are you ready?  I PRE-prepar pasta in advance.  I boil a huge pot of water, cook the pasta, drain the pasta and let it cool.  Once cooled I seperate the appropritate serving size for our family in freezer bags and freeze.  You can either refrigerate for three days or freeze for three months..  On the day that I know I am cooking pasta, I take it out in the morning and let it defrost and just put it in a colander and run it under hot water when I am ready for it.  I cannot tell you what a time saver this is.  Also, less dishes on eating day!  Can't beat that.  Plus, I, nor Clint are able to tell the difference,

This is what I mean by a "ball" of fresh mozarella. 

Here is the chicken all golden brown and place on top of the pasta sauce.

Here is the pasta topped with sliced cheese prior to baking.

We love love love this recipe! 

Tonight's quick meal: Chicken Quesadillas.

I decided to make a simple, easy meal tonight. I had flour tortillas left over from making Cilantro Lime Tacos yesterday so I decided to make Quesadilla's. It's a recipe that I use when I am trying to get a meal done from start to finish in very little time and yet, it needs to be healthy.

I simply add a little oil to a pan. Add diced chicken and cook til no longer pink. I then added half of a diced onion and a medium diced bell pepper. I added a little but of salt, pepper and cumin to taste. I set this aside in a small bowl as pictured below.

I lay (1) flour tortilla in a pan and top with shredded cheese.

I top with chicken mixture and lay another tiny sprinkle of cheese on top of the chicken mixture. Then add a second flour tortilla on top. The reason I add the second bit of cheese is because as it melts, it makes the top tortilla stick which makes for easier flipping. You just cook the quesadilla on medium heat intil browned and cheese it melted.

Last, I cut Jude's into a heart shape.

Here is Jude with a mouthful of Chicken Quesadilla. He ate the entire thing!

Hearty Stuffed Pepper Soup - So easy peasy!

I wanted to make something this past week that was hassle free and that I could make a lot of. I was looking to make a lot because I wanted to send some to my father-in-law as he was on his own for a week since Faye, his wife, was in the Phillippines. I thought that this soup recipe that I got from AllRecipes.com would be perfect. It was! I did make some small changes -mostly with the amounts of ingredients that were used. I added a bit more green pepper, more rice and more tomatoes. You can follow the recipes from AllRecipes as is...and I am sure it would turn out wonderful.

I started by browning (1) lb of ground sirloin. (forgot to take a pic).

Chop (2) Large Green Pepper.

Chop (1) onion. Add the green peppers and onions to the large pot that holds the cooked and drained ground sirloin. Cook until onions are translucent.

I used (2) 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes and (1) 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes that I crushed up with my hands as I added it to my pot. I used these as it was what I had on hand. Add these to the pot.

I used a little more than (1/2) can of this 29 oz tomato sauce. Add this to the pot.

Pour in (2) cans of chicken broth.

Add Thyme and sage to taste along with salt and pepper. Cook this mixture for approximately 40 minutes until the peppers are tender.

Meanwhile, I cooked 1.5 cups of white rice. I used instant whole grain since it was all I had left since I made fried rice previously. Add this to the soup after the 40 minutes and stir it in well.

This is the end result. Delicious Stuffed Pepper Soup. It really does taste like stuffed peppers! Promise!

Chicken Fried Rice

I love to make fried rice because it reminds me of special occassions in our home growing up. My mom would only make it once in awhile at a family members request and it was only for potlucks or holidays. I have taken cues from my mom and have always just used what I had on hand for the vegetables but I always use chicken and my mom always uses beef. I am just a huge chicken fan and use it the majority of the time for the protein in my dishes.



The first step is to chop - chop - and chop some more.



Here are the ingredients I used:

(2) cups of potatoes, peeled and diced.

(1) cup of red onions, diced. (you can use any type of onion--but all I had was red).

(1) small green bell pepper from the garden, diced.

(1) cup of frozen edamamme (so healthy for you)!

(1.5) lb chicken breast, diced.

(3) cups white rice, steamed and cooled.

(2) eggs, beaten with (2) tbs water.

(2) tbs butter.

salt and pepper to taste.

(1/3) cup soy sauce.

Here are all my veggies cut up! I love the colors!

Next, after beating (2) eggs mixed with (2) tbs of eggs, I fry it flat in (2) tbs of butter. You make it similar to an omellette and fold it in order to cut it into bite size pieces.

Next, I diced (1.5) cups of chicken breast and cooked it in (2) tbs oil and set aside.

In the same pan that the chicken was cooked in, I added (2) tbs more of oil and cooked potatoes til done. Remove from pan and set aside.

Next, saute the onions and edammame in oil til soft.

Mix in (3) cups of cooled white rice to the onion and edammame mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now add the cooked chicken, egg and potatoes. Cook till all ingredients are heated through. I like to let some parts of the rice get a bit more fried so there are a few crunchy bites in there and mix them in. Next, add soy sauce to taste. I tend to use about 1/3 cup and keep some on the table for others to add to their liking. Cook with the soy sauce for about 2 more minutes and serve.

And here you have the finished product! A big bowl of yummy fried rice!

As with almost all of my recipes, you can easily make substitutions. I don't usually have a lot of edamamme on hand and often times use peas instead. Also, most people don't put potatoes in their fried rice, but I don't think I could make it an NOT put it in! I have always made it with them and love when I get a taste of it in a bite. Try it for yourself. Once you've had fried rice with potatoes, you will love it too!

Yummy to my tummy Chicken Pot Pie!

I personally love chicken. I also love a dish that offers everything you need in one meal. Who doesn't like "all inclusive"? That's the reason I love Chicken Pot Pie. There is a lot of substitutions that can be made in any pot pie recipe based on preferences in protein or veggies. I have often substituted the veggies for what I have had on hand.

Anyways, here is my super duper pot pie recipe.

Here are the steps.

Chop one cup of carrots.Chop 1/2 cup celery.

Chop 1.5 lb. chopped chicken breast.

Add the carrots, celery, chicken and 1 cup of frozen broccoli to a saucepan. Add just enough water to cover. Boil for 15 minutes.Drain.Chop 1/3 cup of onions. I always add a bit more since Clint, Jude and myself like onions.
Saute onions with 1/3 cup butter.
In the meantime, get out your prepared pie crusts.

Lay the first one in a pie plate. Pour in the chicken mixture.

Add 1/3 cup flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper and 1/2 tsp. of celery seed to the onion mixture.

Then add 1.5 cup of Chicken broth and 2/3 cup milk.

It gives you a gravy that looks like this.

Pour this gravy over the chicken mixture. Cover with the other pie crust and bake at 425 for 30 minutes!

Voila! Now you have a delicious meal!