Lasagna

Ingredients:
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 big jars spaghetti sauce ( I use Bertolli - tomato/basil)
1 lb fresh sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion (diced)
4 cups mozzarella
1 pkg lasagna noodles


Directions:

Boil lasagna noodles (not too long or they'll fall apart). Let cool.

In large skillet or dutch oven, brown ground beef. Right before it's completely browned (still a little pink) add onion and mushrooms. Once onions and mushrooms have softened and ground beef is completely done, add spaghetti sauce.

In 9x13 pan, place lasagna noodles in bottom. I usually place four-five and let them overlap if they have to. Then spoon out a layer of the sauce, just covering the noodles, then spread out a layer of cheese, just covering the sauce. Do this two more times, making three complete layers - noodles, sauce, cheese.

Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.

This is also a good recipe for baked spaghetti, just add a can of cream of mushroom soup to the sauce and swap out the lasagna noodles for spaghetti noodles and the mozzarella for cheddar. I usually only make half when I do baked spaghetti, though. Both meals are totally freezer friendly, just prep all the way up to baking and stick in the freezer.

Peppered Shrimp Alfredo

Being from the south, I LOVE seafood recipes. This is our latest one, and everyone at my house loved it, even my one year old! I left out the cayenne pepper for him, but I'm sure it would be great with it! You could totally substitute cooked chicken strips if shrimp isn't your thing.

Here is the original recipe from www.allrecipes.com:

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, diced
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 (15 ounce) jar Alfredo sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter together with the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened and translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic, red pepper, and mushroom; cook over medium-high heat until soft, about 2 minutes more.
3. Stir in the shrimp, and cook until firm and pink, then pour in Alfredo sauce, Romano cheese, and cream; bring to a simmer stirring constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir drained pasta into the sauce, and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Here are my modifications:

I used frozen shrimp and thawed them in the fridge in a container with olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley for two hours before cooking. The stock that came off the shrimp from them being frozen replaced the cream. Cheaper and healthier... that's how I like it!

Enjoy!! :o)

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

I'm sure most people get kind of tired of chicken, especially if you use the same recipes over and over...I know I can!  I found this recipe on Pinterest and tried it since I already had everything (which never happens!).  I didn't take a picture, but here is the picture from the blog, Blog Chef with the recipe.

Ingredients:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (how many you want)
Bacon slices (turkey bacon is cheaper and better for you, we had the real stuff though)
Cream cheese
Butter
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Chives (or parsley, oregano)
Salt
Pepper
Toothpicks

1. Pound chicken breasts until flat (if they are frozen thaw first).
2. Liberally spread each chicken breast with cream cheese and a little butter.
3. Top with seasonings (you don't have to use the ones listed, that's just what I used and it was good).
4. Roll up each chicken breast, wrap with bacon and put a toothpick in each piece.
5. Bake @ 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes in a casserole dish or cookie sheet (with sides)
6. Turn on broiler and cook for 5 minutes about six inches away from the boiler to get the bacon crispy.
7. Serve with rice, a veggie or pasta.  Enjoy!

We had large pieces of chicken breast and smaller ones (smaller than my palm) and the smaller were so good!  So I recommend cutting the large pieces in half before putting cream cheese on it.  The original recipe called for chive and onion cream cheese but I didn't have that so I used an opened block I had and just added the spices.  It was so good and very easy!! (Brett did most of the work actually because I was doing school work!) 

Funny story, for some reason we only have colored toothpicks (I don't even recall buying them that's how long I've had them).  Well the color came off in the chicken so some pieces of chicken were colored! Haha  It tasted fine and we got a good laugh (Brett didn't even notice, I had to tell him!)  :)

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

I saw this recipe on Skinny Taste and thought I would try it out.  Each roll is 6 WW+  (or 4 WW - old point system) points if you don't add meat.

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained (I used 3/4 this amount)
• 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh pepper
• 32 oz jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (I didn't measure this and probably used more than that! ha!)
• I added 2 hot italian sausages, cut up and cooked.  You could also add some shredded chicken instead.  Or just make them meat-less.

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Mix in cooked meat, if you like.  Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Rollcarefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with shredded mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Baked Parmesan Chicken

Chicken Breasts

1 stick of butter

¾ cup bread crumbs

¾ cup parmesan cheese

½ tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix bread crumbs, cheese and garlic powder together. Melt butter in separate dish. Dip chicken breast in melted butter, then coat in breadcrumb mixture.  Place chicken in greased baking dish (I use a foil-covered cookie sheet for easy clean-up).  Pour remainder butter over chicken and sprinkle additional bread crumbs on top.  Bake for 1 hour.

Savory Tuscan Vegetable Soup

I got this recipe off of Campbell's Kitchen. It took about 30 minutes to make, and I used a mix of carrots, green beans, corn and peas instead of the cauliflower/broccoli mix the recipe suggests.

What You'll Need:
4 cups Swanson® Natural Goodness® Chicken Broth
3 cups Campbell's® Tomato Juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves or Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen vegetable combination (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
1 can (about 15 ounces) red kidney beans or white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained

Directions:
1. Heat the broth, tomato juice, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper and vegetables in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the beans and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Biscuit Dough Powdered Donuts

This recipe comes with a warning: You will find yourself dreaming of ways to somehow make and eat these, a whole recipe of them, without your family members finding out.  I haven't figured out how yet, let me know if you have any ideas.

A can, or 2, 5, 8, of those tiny baby biscuits (usually 10 per can).
oil
powdered sugar or icing


Flatten a biscuit on your hand and tear a small hole in the center.

Place in hot oil (between 4 and 6 on my burner).  When you can tell the oil side is becoming toasty (around the edges) flip the donut.  You do not want them to be dark-at all!

Place yummy donuts on paper towels.

Variation of colors: the middle one on the left column is way too brown.  I think the perfect one is the bottom right corner :)

 Cover in powdered sugar or your favorite icings.

Incandescently perfect.

Mexican Chicken Alfredo

The alfredo sauce is what makes this pasta!  I've tried many mexican pastas hoping they would be delicious but they usually aren't creamy enough-this one is perfect!

1-16 oz. package of spiral pasta
2-3 pieces of cubed chicken breast
1/2 a medium, chopped onion
1 Tbsp. canola oil
2 jars (15 oz. each) alfredo sauce
1 C grated Parmesean cheese
1 C medium salsa
1/4 C milk
2 tsp. taco seasoning

Cook pasta.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken and onion in oil.  When chicken is no longer pink stir in alfredo sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in cheese, salsa, milk and taco seasoning.

Drain pasta and toss with chicken mixture.

You can divide the recipe into 2-8 in. square dishes and freeze one up to 3 months.  Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  For the frozen casserole, thaw overnight then let it thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Cover and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

I combined the whole recipe and cooked it in a 9x13 for 35 minutes and I thought it was fine since the chicken was completely cooked.  YUM!

Now this doesn't look very good, my yellow plates and the dish wash everything out-don't go by the picture!!!

Homemade Funnel Cakes

These taste just like the delicious treats you'll find overpriced at the fair!

oil
3 eggs
1/4 C sugar
2 C whole milk
3 2/3 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
powdered sugar

On low heat, cook your oil.  It is best to start out with a lower temp oil (I set my burner between 4 and 6) and figure out how quickly you can work with your cakes.  The oil will continue to heat up no matter what temp you leave it on, you will have to gain speed as you go.

Beat your eggs and sugar, then slowly add milk.  Throw in your dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Unless you're fancy, use a gallon ziploc bag to squeeze out your batter.  Clip your corner fairly small and widen it as needed.  You want the batter to come out more slow than quick so you're able to get "streams" more thin than thick.  Make sense?  You'll learn as you go...

This is waaay too thick.  The hole in my bag corner was too big.

I think it is best to make smaller cakes, don't try to attempt the size you buy at the fair; otherwise, you'll end up splashing hot oil all over yourself and breaking your cakes!

When you see the toasty brown color creeping up the edges of your streams you can flip your cakes.  They cook quickly!

Once a light, toasty brown, set on some paper towels, add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

I found this original recipe on food.com, recipe number 8445.

Pecan Caramels

2 tsp. plus 1 C butter, divided
1 1/4 C sugar
1 1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 C dark corn syrup
2 C heavy whipping cream, divided
1 bag of chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

Line a 9x13 in. pan with foil, grease foil with 2 tsp of butter and set aside.

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine sugars, corn syrup, 1 C cream and the remaining butter.

Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a boil.  Slowly stir in the remaining cream.  Cook without stirring until a candy thermometer reads 245.

It is best to have a thermometer that will hang off the side of your pan without touching the pan (you can adjust the depth of your thermometer as well).  

Remove from ehat and stir in pecans and vanilla.  Pour into your prepared pan and let stand until firm.  Lift the candy out with the foil then discard foil.  You can go ahead and cut it or, I found it easier to chill in the refrigerator then cut with a butcher's knife when the candy is harder.  You can then wrap with wax paper and either devour yourself or give away as a gift :)

Comatose Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Ladies and gentlemen, the Comatose Cookies and Cream Cupcake. WARNING: May require insulin. Do not feed to young children after 8PM.

THE CUPCAKES (What You'll Need):
1 box of chocolate brownie mix
All additional ingredients required on brownie box
1 extra egg
15-20 oreos

1. Prepare mix according to instructions on box.
2. Spoon mixture into muffin cups.
3. Break oreos into halves (or smaller) and insert into the cups, covering with the mix to make a special surprise!


THE ICING (What You'll Need):
1 tub of Whipped Cream Cheese icing (or make your own from scratch)
1 row of oreos

1. Put oreos in a ziploc bag and crush them up. If you have a blender or food processor, use that. The finer the oreo mix, the better.
2. Mix crushed oreos and icing until smooth.

3. Cut a small corner off of a ziploc bag. Place the bag (corner cut down) inside a glass and spoon the icing mixture in. Twist the top of the bag so you can squeeze the icing out.


4. Squeeze a dollop of icing onto each cupcake.
5. Top with an oreo half or a mini oreo! (You can usually find a cup of the mini oreos by the checkout line at the grocery store for just $1.00!)


Enjoy!

Pesto, Chicken Pasta

How do I turn the picture?

Yummy dinner tonight

-Baked Chicken night before with Nature Seasoning

-Cooked Rigatoni Pasta

-Made Pesto with food processor (basil, olive oil and pine nuts)

- Sauteed onion in skillet and combined pasta, pesto and chicken

-Garnished with freshly grated Parmesan and tomatoes

- Served with steamed carrots and squash

Super Easy!!!

Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups

These have been all across my pinterest page and I had all of the ingredients on hand so I tried them tonight. This picture is of them un-cooked, but they turned out great.

• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2-1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2-1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 jar (26 ounces) meatless spaghetti sauce

Citrus Marinade

We grilled out chicken for Father's Day and used this Citrus Marinade. It is awesome!! I have always used it with chicken, but I can't imagine why it wouldn't work for pork too.

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Citrus Marinade

2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp. grainy mustard
1/4 cup vinegar
1 or 2 limes
1 lemon
6 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper

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This is good for about 6 chicken breasts. I marinade for about 4-6 hours. If it goes longer than that, I start to worry about the acid from the vinegar and lime/lemon juice starting to "cook" the chicken. I heard that once on the food network and now I have some strange "phobia" about letting meat sit in acidic substances too long....strange I know.

We use this a TON during the summer when grilling. It is so yummy!!! Enjoy!

Mamaw's Carrot Cake

Jim's Mamaw has the best carrot cake recipe. She makes it for Christmas each year. I wasn't sure I could make it as good as her...and I was right it isn't as good as hers....but it's pretty darn close :o)

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Carrot Cake
1 1/2 c. Crisco Oil (she uses oil, so I use oil... I am not sure what it would be like with the solid crisco)
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups grated carrots (I use the food processor for this. It makes the texture more fine, which is how I prefer it!)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix oil and sugar with hand mixer until blended. Add the eggs and mix some more. Sift dry ingredients together and add them to the oil/sugar/egg mixture. Fold in carrots. Grease pan, pour in batter and bake for 35-45 minutes.

Icing (also known as the best part!)
2 cups powdered sugar
8oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 stick of butter (softened)
1 tbsp. lemon juice (I leave this out because I usually don't have lemons laying around)
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese and butter until creamy and combined. Add powered sugar in small batches until incorporated. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and whip until fluffy!

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Mamaw bakes the cake in a 9x13, flips it out of the pan (think pineapple upside down cake) and then icings it. The few times I have made this, my cake always sticks in some places and my cake is no longer a perfect little rectangle. I am not sure what her trick is, since I grease my pan thoroughly...maybe you all will have better luck! (If you figure out a trick, please let me know!)

We had this for father's day, and it was a huge hit!

White Bean Burgers

Okay, I have always been intimidated by "veggie burgers" thinking they would be hard to make and gross to eat. But tonight I tried them and they were super easy and delicious- it tasted like a real hamburger somehow.

Anyways here is the recipe (Emeril's), please try it :)

Yield: 4 veggie burgers ( I made 8 small/medium)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon minced chives

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

1/2 cup dry unseasoned breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon Emeril's Original Essence or other Creole Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Hamburger buns, for serving

Sliced tomatoes, onions, lettuce leaves, pickles, avocado, etc., for garnishing, as desired

Condiments for serving, such as ketchup or salsa, mayonnaise, mustard, as desired

Method:

In a nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and saute the onion, bell pepper, celery, carrot, and garlic until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the beans with the back of a fork. Stir in the cooled vegetables, egg mixture, chives, parsley, breadcrumbs, and seasonings and mix well.

Divide the mixture into 4 patties. Wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

When ready to serve, heat the remaining olive oil in a large nonstick skillet and cook the burgers until golden on both sides and heated through, about 2 minutes per side. Serve hot, on lightly toasted buns, garnished with desired condiments.

I mixed light mayo with some fresh dill for the sauce.

Pimento Cheese

I used to be one that wouldn't touch pimento cheese with a 10-foot pole. I am not sure what changed. Maybe the recipe I use now is better than when I was younger or maybe my taste buds have changed, but I can't get enough of this stuff. I take it to school for lunch on days when another turkey sandwich might make me sick, and I love it during the summer with crackers.

Pimento Cheese

This is really more of a method than a recipe, which is strange because I usually like to follow recipes... I guess this is my exception! You can mix and add what you like to make it your own and it can easily be doubled! As far as measuring goes, I just keep adding ingredients until I get it to the taste and consistency I like!

1 block of cheddar cheese (I usually use medium or sharp cheddar, but you can use whatever you prefer)
1 cup or so of Mayo
a couple table spoons (or globs) of sour cream
1 jar of pimentos drained (they come in different sized jars, pick the size you want depending on your love for them!)
a sprinkling of garlic powder
quite a bit of pepper (I like to see the black specks...)
some splashes of hot sauce (if that's your thing)

I sometime add green olives chopped up or green onions!

Serve with crackers, make a sandwich, use as a dip, eat it with a spoon, whatever you'd like! :o)

Okay, here is the crucial part...you have to grate your own cheese. Notice I didn't say a "bag" of cheese... I said a "block". I set mine on my kitchen counter when I know I am going to make it so the block can soften. I may or may not forget about it sitting out before I make it, but that is beside the point! :o) Then, use a hand grater and grate the cheese once it's soft. This will help the spread/dip be creamier!

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

2 c. (8 ounces) elbow macaroni

1 stick butter (I used half of a stick)

1/4 cup minced onions

3 tbsp. flour

2 c. of milk or light cream (I used heavy cream)

1/2 c. dry white wine (or water)

2 c. grated sharp cheddar (1/2 pound)

1/2 cup bread crumbs (topping)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cayenne to taste 1/2 tsp. paprika

Directions:

Bring 4 qt. salted water to a rapid boil and cook the macaroni until not quite tender. Drain macaroni and set aside.

In saute pan, melt 1/2 the stick of butter (or 4 tablespoons). When melted, stir in the breadcrumbs and toast just until lightly browned. Remove breadcrumbs from pan and set aside. Wipe pan clean with paper towel and re-use for next step. Breadcrumb topping: Melt remaining butter, add onions, and stir over low heat until onions are just translucent, but not browned. Stir in the flour and seasonings. Continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add the wine, then gradually stir in the milk or cream.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened and smooth. Add cheese and continue stirring until the cheese melts.

Combine the macaroni with the cheese sauce. Turn out into a generously buttered casserole dish (approximately 1 1/2 quarts). If you have any extra grated cheese, you can sprinkle this on top along with the 1/2 cup of buttered, toasted bread crumbs.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately 20 minutes or until heated all the way through and golden brown on top.

***I do not have a picture because it got eaten up so fast in my house tonight! Will grilled out yummy burgers and I made homemade mac and cheese for the first time and steamed broccoli. I had every intention of making strawberry shortcake but we were too stuffed from this yummy dish.

Super Easy, Super Yummy Rice

I make this rice as both a side dish and a main course. You put all the ingredients together and in the oven it goes... so easy! My kind of recipe!

1 cup rice (not the quick cooking kind)
1 can of french onion soup
1 can broth (chicken or beef... I usually have boxed broth on hand, so I just fill up the french onion soup can with the broth to measure)
1 small can mushrooms (if that's your thing!)
1 stick of butter (I usually don't use the whole stick...maybe a half or so)

This is where you can stop if you are using it as a side dish. Stir all the ingredients together and put them in a 9x13 dish for an hour at 350.

If you want to make it as a main dish/casserole just add shredded chicken (however much you want... I usually shred the white meat of a rotisserie chicken to use) and a can of water chestnuts. I guess you could add whatever vegetables you like... I am just a creature of habit that follows a recipe strictly! ha! This still goes into the oven for an hour at 350.

I have tried this with brown rice (thinking it would be healthier) and the rice DID NOT cook?!? I am not sure if I had a bad batch of rice, or if brown rice just takes a lot longer or what.... so I usually use enriched medium grain rice. It seems to work well.

This is really good with the cranberry chicken recipe that Alyssa posted. One of our favorite meals!

Mini Key Lime Pies

This recipe originally came from the Pampered Chef Season's Best Spring/Summer 2010 Recipe Collection.  I've simplified it a little to fit my style :)

1/2 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 lime
2 oz softened cream cheese
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 drop green food coloring
2 C thawed frozen whipped topping
additional fruit for topping (strawberries, raspberries, etc.) optional

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

Cut cookie dough into 1/2 inch-thick disks.  Cut disks into 4 wedges each.  Place each wedge in its own place in a muffin pan.  They will form to the shape of a cup.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for about 3 minutes then place them on a rack to cool completely.

Zest your lime and make about 1 tsp of zest.  Juice your lime to make about 1 tbsp of juice.  *Did you know you can use a mini whisk for this?  Just flatten it and plunge it into the inside of your lime half, then twist.

Combine zest, juice, cream cheese, sugar and food coloring.  Whisk until smooth.  Add whipped topping.

Spoon your mixture into a resealable plastic bag and cut the corner.  Pipe the filling into your little sugar cookie cups.

Place sliced strawberries or other fruits on top of a cup for added color and flavor!