Side Dish. 4 Vegi Saute.

This is the starter of my semi home-made vegi pasta sauce, used in my Vegi Zucchini Lasagna, however, it makes an awesome side dish, or a topper for baked chicken too.

Simple and wonderful!
1/2 large onion diced
1 yellow squash diced
1 small/medium eggplant diced
6 large mushrooms largely diced
5-6Tbsp Olive oil
garlic salt and pepper to taste (I usually do around 2tbsp garlic salt and about 1/2tbsp pepper but I eyeball it)
A variation would be to add a tablespoon of pesto or a tbsp of chili powder.

Saute all in a large pan until softened but not mushy, we like it to have texture.

Here are some photos to show prep and it finished.

 

Whats for dinner? Vegi Zuchinni lasagna

Well, I've been experimenting in the kitchen again. We will be feeding some people for a Valentine dinner soon with our church and aside from a regular lasagna I wanted to do a vegi one. No noodles, No meat.

As a first time doing this it turned out quite well, and, it was husband and kid approved too!

Ingredients
1/2 large onion, diced
6 large mushrooms, largely diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
1 small/med eggplant diced
Garlic salt
Pepper
5-6Tbsp Olive oil
1 Jar Ragu chunky mushroom sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp sugar
16oz ricotta
4oz grated Parmesan
16oz shredded mozzarella (separate 8oz to top)
4Tbsp pesto
4 Zucchini, sliced long ways about 1/8inch thick

Directions: After you cut and prep onion, mushrooms, squash, eggplant place them all in a large saucepan with olive oil, garlic salt (I eyeball this but about 2 tbsp) and pepper to taste, saute until softened but not mushy you want this to be the texture in the sauce. Add sauce, diced tomatoes, and sugar and simmer over medium heat. Mix ricotta, 8oz of mozzarella, Parmesan, and pesto in a bowl together. Coat bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with butter and line with zucchini slices, top with ricotta mixture, then with sauce, repeat and then cover with the other 8oz of mozzarella. Bake at 350 for 35minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. NOTE****This doesn't section out all pretty and perfect but it does taste really good.

Here are some photos of the prep and cooking. Feel free to comment. Enjoy!

 

 

May not section out the prettiest but it is good!

Whats for Dinner? Chicken Casserole!

So I haven't posted a recipe in a while, just haven't taken the time to do it. However, making this today I was thinking allot of my grandma and her making Chicken casserole so I thought I would share.

What you need: **for a 9x13 pan
NOTE: I will list spices but I don't measure them in this so do what looks right.

2.5lb chicken (leg quarters on bone)
1/2c olive oil
chili powder
garlic powder
salt
1 can sweet peas
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 can of chicken broth (or a can of water and 1 bullion cube)
1 bag egg noodles
1 egg
1c bread crumbs (or saltines crushed)
3/4c shredded cheddar cheese

Lets start with the chicken, one thing I always remember about Grandmas chicken casserole is the chicken itself tasted so good, and it made the casserole even better. preheat oven to 250. Mix in a bowl olive oil, chili powder, garlic, salt and rub all over the chicken. Brown chicken on both sides in a pan (about 3-4 minutes each side) then place in baking dish in preheated oven for 1 hour. Raise oven heat to 425 with chicken still in it, bake for 15 minutes, flip chicken and bake another 10 minutes. Remove chicken and let it cool while you boil noodles in salty water. Mix in a pot cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, chicken broth and simmer 5 minutes on medium. Pull chicken off the bone. Mix chicken, cooked noodles, cream of/broth mixture, peas in 9x13 baking dish. Scramble egg in a bowl and mix into baking dish as well. Mix in a Small bowl bread crumbs and cheese and top the casserole. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. ENJOY!

And yes... you just need good home made biscuits with chicken casserole!

What's for dinner? Spinach lasagna

Spinach lasagna is one of my husbands absolute favorite meals, AND one of the few meals he really enjoys without meat involved. One thing he has always liked is creamed spinach and we all love pasta so one day out of pure boredom in the "usual" dinners we have I wanted to try something different and this is what came out. This was probably 2 years ago and he still asks for it rather often. Also took this to a church fellowship at our great little country church and despite my being hesitant to take it (not like spinach is a universal favorite food) my husband told me I should cause it was really good and it was ALL gone. Had many people comment on how much they liked it which made me feel awesome cause I get such enjoyment out of cooking for people and it is the icing on the cake when they really like it. And, this week my husband had a birthday so I was asked to make it again for him and I finally wrote it all down to get a recipe for it. Also, this is a favorite of my kids too, they love anything with cheese, noodles and mushrooms!

Here I'm going to give you a list of all the ingredients then I'll separate it out to the sauce, filler to make it easier when you are making it. It may seem like allot of ingredients but it is really easy to make, trust me, with two little ones I love me some easy meals.

This is for a 9x13 pan

Combined list of ingredients:

About 8-12 lasagna noodles broken to pan size

1 lg onion, largely diced

12 oz (approx 4c) mushrooms roughly chopped

1.5 tbsp + 1tsp garlic salt

2.5 tsp nutmeg

1.5 tsp chili powder

5-6tbsp olive oil

2tbsp minced garlic

2 10oz blocks frozen spinach (or about 5c fresh)

 2.5tbsp butter

2.5tbsp flour

3.5c milk

4tbsp Parmesan + extra for topping

1/2tbsp salt

6 1/4c mozzarella

Here are the ingredients separated out and the directions:

Boil Noodles to al-dente, set aside.

 

Sauce:

2.5 tbsp butter

2.5 tbsp flour

3.5c milk

4 tbsp Parmesan

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp nutmeg

Melt butter in sauce pan until bubbly then add the flour whisking quickly keeping it on the heat. Once it starts to thicken (which will happen quickly) and turns a light brown color add the milk and quickly whisk so there are no lumps. Stir in salt, garlic salt, chili powder, nutmeg and cheese and continue to cook over medium high heat. Stir frequently. The sauce will act similar to gravy and will thicken while cooking until removed from heat so once it reaches a smooth consistency and the thickness of an Alfredo type sauce remove from heat.

 

 

Filler:

1 large onion, largely diced

12oz mushrooms (about 4c)

1.5tbsp garlic salt

1.5tsp nutmeg

1tsp chili powder

5tbsp olive oil

2tbsp minced garlic

2 10oz blocks frozen spinach thawed or about 5c fresh

In a large saucepan saute the onions and mushrooms with the olive oil until onions are translucent and mushrooms start shrinking and are tender. Add spinach, garlic salt, chili powder, nutmeg, minced garlic and cook together about 5-10 minutes. Stirring frequently. 

 

Now for the fun part, putting it together. :) 

This is the order of layering:

-2/3c sauce to cover bottom of 9x13 glass pan

-Noodles

-2/3c sauce

-1/2 of the filling

-2c mozzarella

-Noodles

-2/3c sauce 

-Second 1/2 of filling

-2c mozzarella

-Noodles

-Remainder sauce

-2c mozzarella

-Sprinkle Parmesan on top.

 

 Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

(If coming from the fridge like I suggest below, increase cook time about 15 minutes)

Now if you are anything like me, you like things that are easy to make ahead of time and throw in the oven when it is time for dinner. I've been blessed with 2 great nappers, both of my kiddos take about a 3 hour nap in the afternoon, and at the same time too, how awesome is that? It gives me great "chill" time for cleaning, cooking and prepping supper, reading, crochet, crafts, or whatever I decide I want to do. This is one of the meals I love because I can prep it and have it in the fridge ready to go in the oven when my husband gets off AND have the kitchen cleaned and dishes from cooking done for easy cleanup later.

 

 

Ta-DA! A clean kitchen with lasagna prepped!

You could make this a day or two ahead of time and have in the fridge, if you do I'd suggest increasing the cook time about 15 minutes to make sure it heats thoroughly.

  

ENJOY!

What's for dinner? Spinach and parmesan stuffed chicken

What's for dinner? Spinach and Parmesan stuffed chicken breast.

My hubby LOVES spinach so we use it often, fresh, frozen, he'll eat it!

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breast butterflied and pounded

1/4c olive oil

1tbsp garlic salt

1/2c chopped fresh parsley

2tbsp minced garlic

1tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp lemon zest

1 1/2tbsp chili powder

1tsp nutmeg

1box frozen spinach (10oz) thawed and drained or about 2 cups fresh

1 5oz bag Parmesan cheese shredded

approx. 2 tbsp salt

Below is a picture of the marinade. Mix the Olive oil, garlic salt, parsley, minced garlic, lemon juice, zest, chili powder, nutmeg together. Marinade for a couple hours if you can if not just rub into chicken well in the beginning of the cooking process.

 

Below is chicken butterflied and to the side is where I was starting the marinade. 

  After you cover the chicken in the marinade, lay the chicken with the cut side up and spread a thin layer of the cheese then place the spinach on top. Evenly sprinkle the salt on top of the spinach then top with the rest of the cheese and fold over pushing as much in between the two sides of chicken as you can. This wont be perfect, and it doesn't have to be. Bake at 375 for 45minutes.

 

ENJOY! 

What's for dinner? Chili cheese pasta bake

What's for dinner? Chili cheese pasta bake

My kids love noodles... love, love, LOVE them. And honestly, so does my husband and I as well. So, we try all sorts of things with pasta, this is my latest, made it last night.

Chili cheese pasta bake:

1 lb ground beef (we used venison but I know that's not something allot of people use)

3c elbow mac noodles

14.5oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes (or fresh tom. diced and roasted)

27oz can Busch's chili beans

16 oz mild cheddar, shredded (divide into 2 8oz sections)

4oz Velveeta cubed

2 eggs

 3 tbsp chili powder

3 tsp cumin

1tbsp salt (plus extra for boiling noodles)

Saute onions and meat together with chili powder, salt and cumin until meat (if you do use venison you will need to add a tbsp or 2 of olive oil as it is more lean than beef) is browned and the onions are translucent. Add beans, tomatoes to meat mixture and simmer together on med-low heat.  Boil noodles to al-dente in salty water, drain. In large bowl mix noodles with meat/onion mixture then add 8oz of the cheese, mix well. In small bowl scramble the 2 eggs and then stir in quickly to noodle mixture. Pour into 9x13in glass pan, place Velveeta evenly around the mixture and then top with the remainder of the shredded cheddar. Bake at 375 about 25 min or until cheese starts to brown.

 

ENJOY!

(It was definitely a hit with my husband and our kids who love anything involving noodles and cheese)

Whats for dinner? ... Side item!

Well we had a great dinner last night, roasted chicken, loaded mashed pot. (for the husband since I'm dieting) and green beans and mushrooms.

Since this has been a busy week and I am really behind on doing any posts lately I thought I'd share a simple idea you may enjoy.

1 8oz pckg. fresh mushrooms

2 cans cut green beans

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

salt to taste

Shredded parm. cheese to top

 

Saute mushrooms in olive oil and garlic. Heat green beans with salt and when the mushrooms are done drain off extra oil and add to beans. Heat together for about 5 minutes. Serve topped with parm cheese.

Enjoy!

Whats for dinner?... Broccoli Cheese soup

Well our household has been sick lately... ALLOT. From my son having RSV which was his latest sickness until today when he was diagnosed (one week from hospital discharge) with norovirus. It seems between the cold weather and a house of sick kids and sick parents that it was the perfect time to try broccoli cheese soup I've been wanting to make. YUMM! Soup is great and my one year old, the one who has been so sick lately, he LOVES it, ate so much and was quite impatient in between bites, we just couldn't feed him fast enough. Anyhow, here it is...

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 bunches fresh broccoli heads, washed and chopped

1 onion diced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp parsley

3 tbsp garlic salt

 2tbsp salt 

1 tbsp nutmeg

1 tbsp minced garlic

16oz half and half cream

3c milk

2c chicken broth

8oz shredded cheddar cheese (plus extra to top)

1/2c parm. cheese shredded

6oz Velveeta cubed (this could be omitted I think if you want to substitute more ched.) 

3tbsp butter

3tbsp flour

 

 Saute onion with olive oil and minced garlic until translucent then set aside. In large stock pot melt butter until bubbly then whisk in the flour until paste like and then stir in cream.

 

 

Cook on medium for 5 minutes continuing stirring occasionally, add chicken broth and the milk. Stir in onions, shredded cheddar, Parmesan and Velveeta until melted. Add parsley, garlic salt, salt and nutmeg then add the broccoli. Simmer over medium stirring occasionally until broccoli is tender.

 

Once broccoli is tender remove approx half of the broccoli heads and place in food processor (I used my ninja) and pulse until no large pieces left. Return to pot and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Serve with shredded cheddar on top.

 

 

ENJOY! 

Whats for dinner? Croissant roll-ups

This is from the other night, nothing difficult to do but we needed a simple and quick meal so these were it!

First there was the simple pizza rolls,

lay out the croussaints on pan as directed by packaging. Spoon a small amount (about 1-2tbsp) of pizza sauce onto the croissants.

 

Add some cheddar cheese, (or mozzarella if you prefer) and some pepperonis if you want.

 

Roll them up and bake as directed on packaging.

And then there are the Roast Beef ones, again, unroll and lay out croissants as directed on packaging place 1/4 slice of provolone on the croissant, then lay on roast beef (i shredded mine up one slice per croissant). Then lay another 1/4 slice of provolone on top of roast beef. Saute 1/2 small onion in small amount of olive oil and about 2 tsp garlic salt until transluscent. Divide these onions onto the cheese.

Roll up and bake as directed on packaging.

 

(the roast beef ones after being baked... I didnt get a picture of the pizza ones sorry)

Simple dinner for those busy nights!

ENJOY!