Split Pea Soup

Into the crockpot goes:

A bag of dry split peas
A little ham (I usually do about a half cup diced. I like the flavor, but I try not to eat too much. You could leave it out all together)
Water to cover everything (Add more as needed)
Chicken bullion
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Thyme
Bay leaf
Pepper

Cook on high for 6 hours. This is so yummy and filling and only has about 100 calories per cup!

Salsa Chicken Casserole

 

The weather is cooling down and I actually feel like cooking real food again! Maybe you guys do too (hint, hint).

This is a great, easy, yummy recipe. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures.

1-16 oz. pkg. Egg noodles, cooked and drained

1-16 oz. sour cream

1-16 oz cottage cheese

1-16 oz. jar of favorite salsa

3 large cans (aprox. 12 oz each) chicken

or 2 lbs. Cooked cubed chicken or turkey

3 cups grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl mix together sour cream, cottage cheese, salsa, chicken and 2 cups of grated cheese.

Add cooked noodles and mix together well. Put into greased casserole dish. Cover with remaining grated cheese. Cook for

20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serves 8-10

 

When I make this recipe, I only use one can of chicken and I “eyeball” the sour cream, salsa, and cottage cheese. I just add enough to make everything nice and gooey.

Enjoy!

Pasta Primavera

My mom made this meal for us all the time when I was growing up- and I hated it! Now, I can't get enough of it! It's such a great veggie dish. I usually ask Ryan to make it for me on my birthday. Trust me, it's good!

3-5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
* 2 cups fresh mushrooms (aprox.), sliced
3 medium zucchini, sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 teas each oregano and basil
2 tabl water
12-16 oz spaghetti or other pasta
grated romano or parmesan cheese (fresh is best, but not necessary)
3 tabl olive oil

In a large fry pan, stir-fry garlic, carrots, and mushrooms in olive oil.  Stir in zucchini and spices.  Cook crisp until crisp/tender.  Add tomato wedges and water.  Cover and steam for 5 minutes.  Serve over warm cooked pasta, and top with grated cheese.  Serves 4-6 people.

* We don’t put mushrooms in when we make it, because neither of us like mushrooms.

Easy Peasy

Here are a few super easy recipes. You can never have too many!

Bisquick's Chicken Pot Pie

1 2/3 c frozen mixed vegetables

1 cup cooked chicken

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup Bisquick

1/2 c milk

1 egg

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix veggies, chicken, and soup in an ungreased pie dish.

Stir together remaining ingredients and pour over the top of the chicken mixture.

Bake for 30 min or until golden brown.

* I like to add a little bit of chopped, cooked potato and sometimes onion to this as well. I also usually season with salt and pepper and a little bit of garlic powder and add a little cheese to the top. Either way, it's super easy and yummy.

"Healthified" Mexican Pasta Skillet from Eat Better America (a great website)

1	lb extra-lean (at least 93%) ground beef
1	jar (16 oz) Muir Glen® organic mild salsa
1	cup Muir Glen® organic tomato sauce (from 15-oz can)
1 1/2	cups water
2	cups uncooked regular or multigrain elbow macaroni
1	cup Green Giant® Niblets® frozen corn
1/2	cup shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

1.	In 12-inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.
2.	Stir in salsa, tomato sauce and water. Heat to boiling. Stir in macaroni and corn. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender.
3.	Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. * I used turkey, instead of beef and whatever salsa I had in my fridge. It was really yummy and easy. Kind of like a homemade hamburger helper. Only this is better and cheaper, and possibly easier. You can't beat that!

Berry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

Just another way to bring the sugary-creamy goodness of Valentine's day to the breakfast table.

You need:

Loaf of french bread
Frozen berries
Cream cheese
Eggs
Milk
Vanilla
Sugar!

Puree 1 cup of any berry with a couple scoops of sugar. (I used blueberries this time. Not very valentiney, but they were what I had and Devan loves blueberries. Blueberies are my least favorite berry, but I still loved these.)

Cream the puree together with 4 oz softened cream cheese.

Beat about 4 eggs with milk and add it some vanilla, cinnamon and sugar. The original recipe called for 1 cup of sugar. Yikes! I used a couple tablespoons.

Cut a loaf of french bread into 1 inch slices and spread the cream chesse mixture between two slices like a sandwich. Then dip into the egg mixture and fry.

So delicious! We decided they're best when they're hot, straight off the frying pan. This recipe made 6 french toasts. I was uncomfortably full after 1 and a half pieces. Devan finished off the rest.

Rice and Spinach Balls

Okay, girls, I know we all got busy with the holidays, but I'm running out of good ideas so I hope we all start sharing recipes again soon! Here's another great way to use up leftover rice. I didn't serve them with marinara but they were still really good.

Rice and Spinach Balls

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with nonstick foil. Heat 2 tsp oil in skillet over medium heat. Add I cup thawed frozen cut-leaf spinach, ½ small onion, diced, and ½ tsp minced garlic; cook 2 minutes until spinach is tender.

Stir into spinach mixture 1 cup cooked rice, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, 1 large egg, and 1/8 tsp pepper.

Drop rounded Tbsps onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until firm. Serve with marinara. Makes about 10.

Shepherd's Pie

You all might already have a good recipe for Shepherd's Pie but I made it last night and it tasted sooo good, I just had to share this easy meal.

Okay, so this is not really a recipe as much as a list of ingredients. Add as much or as little as you like. This makes a 9x9 casserole.

roughly 1/2 lb of ground turkey, browned with onions, salt, and pepper

frozen green beans

frozen peas

frozen corn

any other frozen veg you think would be good

mix all this together with a can of tomato soup and a little salt and pepper. Spread in a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes. If I have time, I like to make homemade potatoes, but this is good with dry potatoes too. I add a little garlic. Spread the potatoes over the meat and top everything with a little cheese. Cheddar is good and so is parmesan and mozzarella. Bake at 4375 for about 30 minutes. Make sure the cheese on top gets nice and brown.

Alex! did you use cooking wine in your sesame chicken or a substitute?