Stuffed Zucchini

Looking for another way to use zucchini?  Well, here's a new fall favorite in our home!  So you can try it too, if you are up for it!  :)

Stuffed Zucchini

2 Zucchini (medium to large)

1 c. Stuffing mix (bread crumbs or cubes)

1/2 cooked meat, (beef, chicken, turkey or pork)

1/2 c. Corn

1/4 c. Onion, chopped

1/4 c. Milk

1 Egg

2 T. Sour Cream

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Start out by washing the Zucchini and cutting them in half lengthwise.  Then hollow out with a fork and put there flesh into a medium mixing bowl.  Once they are hollowed salt and pepper them like so.

2.  Finish making the filling for these stuffed zukes!  In the mixing bowl with zucchini in it add the stuffing mix, meat, corn, milk, onion, sour cream and egg.  Mix together thoroughly.  (But gently)

3.  Start stuffing the zucchini with the filling.  Just divide it evenly between the 4 halves of zucchini.  Then place the stuffed zucchini in a baking dish.

4.  Drizzle olive oil over the stuffed zucchini right before you bake them.  Also season with salt and pepper at this time. (See pic below)

5.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden.

6.  Plate and enjoy!  The top will be crunchy goodness while the middle is moist from the zucchini!  Beware, they will be hot and delicious!  :)

Poor Man's Pizza

Alright, this is quite possibly my very favorite pizza to make at home.  I make it 99% of the time for myself, but never have for my hubs till tonight.  And as it turns out, he likes it too!  Best part?  It's super easy, yummy and cheap!  Plus, it's basically all things found in your pantry...or out of staples.  :)

Poor Man's Pizza (aka my favorite homemade pizza)

Pizza Dough (Any will due!  Mine, yours or from the store!)

Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Fresh Basil, roughly chopped

Garlic, minced

So, all you do is put the pizza dough on a pizza pan or baking sheet.  Then spinkle the cheese evenly over it.  Then sprinkle the basil and garlic over the cheese!

Bake in a hot 425degree oven for about 7-10 minutes (until golden)  and get ready to taste a little bit of heaven in a very affordable way!  :)  Enjoy!!!

Quick Chicken Pot Pies

So, when I was making dinner tonight I just wanted to whip something up quickly.  I decided on Chicken Pot Pies, but wanted it faster.  So, this is what I came up with!  Super fast, super easy and super delicious!  :)

For the filling I msotly used my recipe for Chicken Pot Pie filling, except I skipped the potatoes to make it quicker.  I also skipped the pie crust and made quick bisquick biscuits!  Detailed recipe below:

Quick Chicken Pot Pies

2 T. Butter/Margarine

2 T. Flour

1.5 c.  Milk

3 c. Veggies,  (Carrots, Peas, Green beans, etc...)

1 can of Chicken Breast (or 1 lb. cooked chicken)

1 t. Thyme

1/2 t. Salt

Pepper to taste

6 Bisquick Biscuits prepared (or other biscuits)

In a large skillet melt butter and stir in flour.  Add milk and lower the heat.  Add veggies, chicken, thyme, salt and pepper and let simmer for 10 minutes.  (You can prepare your biscuits while the filling is simmering.)

When ready to serve, place approximately 1/6 of the filling into a bowl and top with a biscuit.  Enjoy!  :)  We sure did!

Serves 6 people, or 3 hungry ones, or 1 hungry one.  hehe  ;)

http://adeliciousmelody.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/chicken-pot-pies/

Beef Enchilada Casserole

Do you love enchiladas?  Here's a way to enjoy them that's a little easier than making individual enchiladas.  :)  Enjoy....we sure did tonight!

Beef Enchilada Casserole

12 Small Corn Tortillas

2 c.  Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1.5 c. Cooked Beef (shredded or ground beef)

1 Medium Onion, minced

Enchilada Sauce, homemade, canned or dry package reconstituted.

Optional:  1/4 c. Peppers, diced (more or less to taste)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350degrees and get a square baking dish ready to fill.  Get your ingredients together!  :)

Random sidenote:  Notice these adorable little prep bowls.  They are from Ross, and I've had them a while, but just found a new found love for them.  They even have measurements inside.  Cute huh?  I just love em!  :)

Another sidenote:  Here's an example of enchilada sauce mixes you can get at the store.  You just have to add water!  :)

2.  Start layering the ingredients in the dish.  Start with tortillas, then onion (and pepper), meat and cheese.  Then repeat until everything is gone...and it ends up with cheese on top of the tortillas like below.

3.  Pour enchilada sauce over the top of the casserole (like below) and bake in the 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

4.  When it's done baking, take it out, cut and serve.  Enjoy!  :)

Enjoy the ooey gooey cheese, beef and whole lot of Mexican spices going on!  I ate a quarter of this tonight, and my hubby ate more than half.  :)  So...it's quite ridiculously delicious!!

Tacos!!

Tacos.  Tacos.  Tacos.  You can get them so many places.  Hard ones.  Soft ones.  Chicken, Beef or fish.  The options go on and on.  :)  The best thing about making them at home though?  You can make them how you like them!  So here's how I made them tonight....and will probably from now on.  (Since this is the first time that I've made tacos since we've been married....I think I will probably make them more often than every 2-3 years too! ;)

Here's a way to make more Authentic Mexican Tacos:

Homemade tortillas

Shredded Beef (with seasoning of your choice)

Veggies (lettuce/guacamole/corn salsa/salsa/etc...)

Cheese, optional

Fill each tortilla with beef, then veggies and cheese if desired.  Fold and enjoy!  :)

Healthy Butternut Squash Soup with Lime Sour Cream

Fall is almost here, and what better way to ring it in than with a healthy squash soup!

Butternut Squash Soup:
4 lb. butternut squash
4 carrots
1 small onion
1.5 c. water
3 c. milk, skim or 1%
salt and pepper to taste
(Immersion blender or blender/food processor needed)

Lime Sour Cream:
1 c. nonfat sour cream
1 small lime

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender.

2.  While the squash is baking, boil 2 c. of water on the stove.  Peel and cut up carrots.  Then dice the onion.  Once the water is boiling put the carrots and onion in, and cook for about 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.  Drain.

3.  When the squash is done baking, place it on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.  Then once it has cooled done somewhat scoop out the seeds and discard.

4.  Scoop out all the flesh of the squash and place in a large stockpot.

Steps 1, 3 & 4.

5.  Then add the cooked carrots and onions, as well as the water.  If using immersion blender blend it up right in the pot.  If using blender/food processor put smaller amounts in at a time.

6.  Continue to blend until it is smooth and creamy like the picture below.

7.  Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil.  Then turn down to simmer, add milk and stir to combine.  (It should look something like below!)  Simmer for 30minutes or up to 2 hours.

Steps 5, 6 & 7.

8.  Put the sour cream, zest of the lime and lime juice in a bowl.

9.  Whisk until combined, and viola!  Delicious lime sour cream!  :)

Steps 8 & 9.

10.  Serve in bowls with a dollop of lime sour cream in the middle!  Enjoy!

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Easy Vegetarian Lasagna

This is something that I've been meaning to make for years...but just hadn't.  So, when I made pasta yesterday I thought this was a perfect time to do it!  :)

Vegetarian Lasagna:

Lasagna Noodles (Homemade or store bought)

3 cups veggies, I used 1 c. carrots, 1 c. zucchini and 1 c. eggplant

1 c. cheese (ricotta, cottage cheese, goat cheese or other)  (I used goat cheese this time, and we both loved it...so I will probably stick with that, feel free to experiment though!)

Sauce of your choice (Use what you like, homemade or store bought)

1.  Start by filling two rather large pots with water and heating them to a boil.  Once they are boiling cook the pasta in one and the veggies (Cut up)  in the other.  Times will vary, so check them both frequently.

2.  Once the pasta noodles and veggies are cooked and drained you can start assembling the lasagna! :)

3.  Alternate layers of veggies, pasta and cheese until everything is gone. (Obviously it doesn't have to look perfect...as you can tell from mine. :)  I had three layers in mine and used 1/4 c. of cheese on the frist two and then 1/2 c. on the top.

4.  Pour the sauce over the top making sure that all the pasta is covered.  (You could also top this all with shredded mozzarella.  I just didn't.)

5.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

6.  Enjoy!  :)

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan.  I suppose it's something you either A. love or B. hate.  I am one that falls under A, and completely, utterly and absolutely LOVE it!  :)  But I don't really like that it's fried typically....so here's a healthier recipe for it!  :)  And it still tastes delicious!!

Eggplant Parmesan:

Eggplant, sliced (about 1/4 inch thick slices)

Breading:  (mix together)

3/4 c. bread crumbs (I prefer Italian style but you could definitely use plain)

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Egg wash:  (mix together)

1 egg white

2 T. water

1.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Start with your slices.  It's okay if they aren't all perfect.  As you can tell, mine weren't.  :)

2.  Take a slice of eggplant and coat each side with the egg wash.

3.  Once the eggplant has egg on it, coat it with the breading on each side.  (Above and below pics)

4.  Place the first eggplant Parmesan on a baking sheet that was prepped with baking spray.

Then repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other slices.

5.  Once your baking sheet is full (like so) bake for 10 minutes on each side.  (or until golden!)

Then you can serve along with spaghetti or just by itself!  They will be crispy on the outside and perfectly tender on the inside.  Enjoy!  :)

Homemade Sweet Potato Pasta

Well, I can now say that I have made homemade pasta!  I guess I already could say that though, because this time last year I made some gnocchi.  But, now I really, truly, and in every sense of the word, have made pasta!  I made lasagna noodles, spaghetti noodles and a few little curly ones.  :)

I used the Fannie Farmer cookbook for general instructions, but since I wanted to make sweet potato pasta I just made up my recipe.  I fell in love with sweet potato pasta last year at the farmers market in Fort Collins where we could buy it.  So, I wanted to make some, and hopefully be able to recreate that!  :)  Plus it's good experience for general cooking expertise, etc. (And fun!!)

So, I will put the recipe and then also a tutorial like normal.  :)

Sweet Potato Pasta

3 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cooked (boiled)

2 Eggs, separated (or equivalent egg substitute)

Pinch of salt

~2 c. Whole Wheat Flour

1.  Start whipping up the egg whites in your mixer.  They'll start out looking about like this...

2.  Keep whipping those egg whites until they expand and look something like this...

3.  Mash the sweet potatoes until most of the lumps are gone.

4.  Add the mashed sweet potatoes into the egg mixture by the spoonful.

5.  Keep adding the sweet potatoes, and also add the salt at this time until well combined.  (As well as adding egg yolks if you are using them.)

6.  Start adding flour to the mixture about a 1/2 cup at a time.  (I still was using my flat beater, but really should have switched to my dough hook.  So if you have a dough hook, I recommend using that for the flour stage!)  :)

7.  Keep adding flour and mixing until it pulls away from the sides and into a ball.  (About like this, but I actually added a little more flour after this pic was taken.)

8.  Then turn it out onto a floured surface and divide into 4 rather equal sections.

9.  Take one section and start rolling it out.  Roll it as thin and evenly as you can. (I started rolling on my floured pastry board, but then switched to using floured wax paper to be able to move it easier.)

10.  Let it rest for a few minutes, and roll out the other sections of dough while you are waiting.

11.  Cut into desired strips.  Half of the pasta I made today I made into lasagna noodles.  So here are some....

And here they are ready to dry on the cooling rack....

12.  Repeat 11 for the remaining dough.  Here's a way to cut spaghetti noodles that I learned from the Fannie Farmer cookbook.

That did work well but I couldn't get them very thing that way....so I just did my own thing.  And they turned out pretty well!  (Pictured below)  :)

Ooo, then I had some scraps left over and decided to just make some fun little curly noodles.  So, here they are...

And last but not least, here are some of my spaghetti noodles hanging out to dry.  (Okay, truth be told they weren't hanging "out" to dry...but they were hanging, and drying! :)

Now!  I just can't wait to cook these all up for dinner this week!  Be sure to be on the lookout for a new lasagna recipe to go along with these noodles too.  :)

I'm so glad I finally just made some homemade pasta!  It's something that's been on my list, and I guess I just hadn't done yet.  So, now I can check it off...and just may be making some more very soon.  :)  It was fun, pretty easy and I am SOOO excited to really see how they taste!