Baked Zucchini Pasta

Serves 6-8 people. This is SUPER easy and fast to put together. (My favorite kind of meal.) I found this on a great facebook page 5dinners1hour.

INGREDIENTS:

2 zucchini
8.5 oz dried penne noodles
28 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 C water
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
1 C Ricotta or cottage cheese
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Chop zucchini into 1 inch pieces and add to a large bowl.
2. Add next 6 ingredients to zucchini and mix well.
3. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray and layer ingredients. First add 1/2 of the mixture. Top with 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat, ending with cheese on top. Cover with foil.
4. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until bubbly.

Mom's Homemade Vegetable Lasagna Soup

INGREDIENTS:

I yellow onion, diced

4 – 5 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon olive oil

¾ lb. Italian sausage

¾ lb. Ground beef

¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

1 jar (24 oz) Prego Traditional Italian Sauce

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (14 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained

2 whole carrots, grated

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced

5 cans (14 oz) low sodium chicken broth

(about 8 ½ cups)

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 whole bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

10 uncooked lasagna noodles, broken into smaller pieces

CHEESE GARNISH: (individual bowls, to taste)

shredded Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Ricotta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil, onion and garlic. Brown until onion is translucent. Add sausage and beef. Cook until browned. Add pepper flakes, if desired, and saute for 30 seconds. Drain off excess fat.
2. Add Prego sauce, tomatoes, corn, carrots, celery, 3 cans of chicken broth, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar, spices and broken lasagna noodles. Mix thoroughly.
3. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook until lasagna noodles are tender, approximately 20 – 30 minutes.
4. Discard bay leaf. Stir in remaining 2 cans chicken broth. Let simmer another 5 minutes.
5. Serve cheeses alongside soup allowing individuals to garnish to their desires.

OPTIONAL NOTES:

For creamier lasagna soup add ½ cup heavy cream with 2^nd batch of chicken broth, if desired.

Other vegetables to consider adding in place of celery for varied flavors:

8 oz. fresh Kale

2 cups broccoli florets

8 oz. Baby spinach

SPINACH CHEESE MANICOTTI

Delicious, filling, and restaurant quality Manicotti.  No need to boil pasta making it easier to stuff Manicotti shells, use a knife to stuff halfway from one side, turn and finish stuffing from the other side.  Can be made ahead and kept over night in the refrigerator. 

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/2 cup minced onion

1 egg

2 teaspoons fresh minced parsley, or 1 teaspoon dry parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese / divide into 1 1/2 cup and 2/3 cup

3/4  cup grated Parmesan cheese / divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup

2 (26 ounce) jars marinara sauce or 6 cups homemade marinara sauce

1 1/2 cups water

1 (8 ounce) package Manicotti shells, uncooked

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrrees

In a large bowl combine ricotta, spinach, onion and egg. Season with parsley, pepper and garlic powder/  Mix in 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan. In a separate bowl, stir together spaghetti sauce and water.  

Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture, and arrange in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until noodles are soft.

Note:  If refrigerated over night remove from the refrigerator and let sit on counter for 30 minutes before baking. 

         Tomato Lemon Pepper London Broil     

Very easy, very tasty, very tender!  A great meal with hardly any effort.  Bake or slow cook, both are good.  I like to serve with green beans and one of these sides; either rice, orzo pasta, or red potatoes (Potatoes can be added for the last hour if baking, two if slow cooking.)

Serves 4 - 6.  

Ingredients:

1 (2-pound) top round London Broil

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

Lemon Pepper to taste

Garlic salt to taste

Onion powder to taste

1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

or for Italian flavor substitute

      1 (14 ounce) can diced stewed tomatoes

      1 (14 ounce) can Italian diced tomatoes

optional oriental flavor - 2 tbsp Soy Sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, or set slow cooker to high

Pour Tomato sauce in bottom of pan, or slow cooker

Mix Lemon pepper, Garlic salt and Onion powder

Rub half the spices on one side, then half on the other side.

Place roast in pan or slow cooker.  Pour stewed/diced tomatoes over the top.

Make sure liquid completely covers meat, this combined with cooking slowly
on low heat is the secret to its tenderness.

Roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until fork tender.  Slow cook on high for two hours, turn to low and cook another 4 to 5 hours, until fork tender  Let stand for 10 minutes at room temperature before carving and serving.

Pudding Pudding and more Pudding!!!

Here are a couple of our current favorite pudding recipes. Erin has one food per pregnancy that she can't get enough of. This has been the pudding pregnancy. We like these recipes because they are almost as easy as a cook and serve box, but don't taste like chemicals. I hope you all enjoy!

Butterscotch

1 cup light brown sugar (dark brown sugar was a little too intense)
2 Tbs corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter

In a 1-quart sauce pan mix all the dry ingredients. Failure to mix the corn starch with the sugar will result in lumpy pudding. All the beaten eggs and the milk to the pan and mix well. Cook on medium high heat until it starts to boil. Allow it to boil for 30 sec to 1 min longer just to kill the taste of the starch. Take off of heat and add vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes and refrigerate until cook.

Chocolate Pudding

1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 Tbs cocoa powder
3 Tbs corn starch
1/8 tsp salt
2 3/4 cup milk
2 Tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a 1-quart sauce pan mix all the dry ingredients. Failure to mix the corn starch with the sugar will result in lumpy pudding. Add milk to the pan. Cook on medium high heat until it starts to boil. Allow it to boil for 30 sec to 1 min longer just to kill the taste of the starch. Take off of heat and add vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes and refrigerate until cook.

I hope you all enjoy.

Cheesy Chicken & Veggies - Crock Pot Meal

A good friend here in good old SC gave me this slow cooker chicken and veggies recipe, and it is our new favorite! Our kids request it all the time and actually eat it, which is the highest compliment a meal can receive at our house. It also makes great leftovers, so I usually make the full amount so we can enjoy it again later.

This is a make-ahead meal- start it as early in the day as you want. It takes 15-20 minutes to get everything in the slow cooker. 30 minutes before serving, add 3 cups dry rice to rice cooker, cover with 6 cups water and 2 T. chicken bouillon paste (or 6 bouillon cubes).

4-6 chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 8-oz pkgs cream cheese, cubed

2 pkgs dry Italian dressing mix (I make my own with this recipe. Use 4 T. to equal 2 pkgs.)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1-2 cans water

16 oz. frozen veggies of choice

Mix chicken, cream cheese, Italian dressing mix, soups, and 1 can water in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. Stir once when cheese has melted to help it blend better. When finished cooking, transfer chicken to a plate and shred- mashing with the back of a fork works great. Stir in frozen veggies and add another can of water if mixture seems too thick. Add shredded chicken back to soup mixture and turn off crock pot. Serve over rice.

To cut meal in half, use 2 cans soup and half of a can of water. It took a couple of hours less time to cook on low. I've made it this way twice with good results. Enjoy!

Favorite Marinara Sauce

About a year ago, I got fed up with the cheap spaghetti sauces in a jar that always include corn syrup and other unnecessary, unpronounceable ingredients. I went on a quest to find a great marinara sauce that included only basic ingredients like tomatoes, basil, olive oil, etc. The closest I found was the Kirkland Marinara from Costco, however that sauce also tasted pretty basic and needed some extra help. I eventually found that making my own marinara is well worth the effort; the payoff is amazing flavor, as well as knowing what's in it!

2 (15 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1/4 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 T. dried parsley

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. Italian seasoning

1 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

Add these ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

1/4 c. olive oil

2 T. dried onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until tender.

Add pureed ingredients to skillet and heat through. Simmer up to 30 minutes for best flavor, or use immediately if desired.

We usually use half the sauce right away and store the other half in the fridge. It stores well and works great for a quick meal later in the week. I'll never go back to store-bought sauce!

*Recipe adapted from "Best Marinara Sauce Yet" on Allrecipes.com.