Friday, March 2, 2012

Spinach Pasta Casserole

10 oz.fusilli (I used rotini)
1 egg
1/8 cup olive oil
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
39 oz. spaghetti sauce
6 oz. mozarella cheese, shredded
4 oz. Romano cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook fusilli according to directions, drain and place in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl, mix together the egg and oil.  Add to the pasta and toss.  Add the spinach and bread crumbs and toss again.

On the bottom of a 11x7 inch baking pan, pour half of the spaghetti sauce.  Add half the pasta mixture.  Sprinkle half the cheeses.  Now finish by adding the rest of the sauce, the rest of the pasta, the rest of the cheeses.

Bake for 45 minutes until bubbly and slightly browned on top.

**The only change I would make is either cover it while you bake it, or just mix the sauce with the noodles.  The top layer of noodles ended up a little hard and crunchy because they weren't covered in sauce.  It was tasty...sort of like lasagna and Hyrum had two plates!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Crock-Pot Taco Chicken

Yes, I have neglected this blog and kind of taken a break from cooking recipes from this cookbook.  BUT, that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking dinner.  By doing this challenge to cook every recipe in the cookbook, I have become very comfortable with trying new recipes....even recipes with more than 6 ingredients or fresh ingredients I normally don't buy.  I have been trying out lots of new recipes from different blogs or from friends and have found some I really like. 

I am ready to dive back into some of "Saving Dinner" and in looking for something to make, this recipe caught my eye....because it's a crock-pot recipe and it has 3 ingredients!!!

Here it is:

6 boneless skineless chicken thighs 
2 cans tomatoes with green chilies
1 package taco seasoning mix

Throw it all in the crock-pot and cook on low 7-9 hours or until chicken is tender and easily shreddable.

Now, the best part.....it was DEEE LISHOUS!!  We had it as tacos last night...added a little letteuce, olives and cucumbers.  Today we had it as salad....a little ranch added and it was so good!!  My kids liked it too...well minus Kennedy who doesn't like anything with spices or sauce or all mixed together.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Recipes for Angey and Susan

Hey ladies....I offered to post recipes if anyone wanted them and then neglected to read the comments you left....so I finally read them.  So sorry it took so long to get these, but here are the recipes you were interested in:

Parmesan Drumsticks

1 cup parmesan cheese
3 tsps. oregano
2 tsps. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter
1 TBS. olive oil
12 chicken drumsticks, no skin (I used chicken tenders instead cause I don't like bones.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, oregano, paprika and salt and pepper. 
Line a shallow baking pan with foil.
In a small frying pan, melt butter and oil together.  Dip each drumstick in the butter mixture, then in the cheese mixture, and place on foil-lined pan.  Bake drumsticks for one hour or until chicken is completely cooked.

Chicken Stroganoff

3 TBS. butter
4 cloves garlic, pressed
5 boneless, skinless chicken breas halves, cut into thin strips
5 green onions, minced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 pound egg noodles
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, over medium-high heat, melt butter.  Add garlic and saute' quickly (don't let brown).  Add chicken, green onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes and cook until chicken is cooked, stirring frequently. 

 Meanwhile, you should have your water on to boil.   Cook pasta according to directions and drain.

Reheat chicken mixture if necessary to get it hot.  Add sour cream to the skillet, and salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon chicken over pasta and serve.


Chicken and Artichoke Casserole

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in 1-inch strips
4 TBS. butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2TBS. flour
1 can chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350.  In a skillet over medium heat, brown chicken lightly in 2 TBS. butter, add garlic and mushrooms, and keep cooking till chicken mixture is smelling very garlicky.

In a baking dish, add the browned chicken mixture.  Place the artichoke hearts atop the chicken.

In the skillet, melt remaining butter and add the flour, whisking to blend (no lumps!)  Add broth and cook until thickened, then pour over chicken mixture.

Bake 35-40 minutes.

Oven-Fried Fish

4 TBS butter
1 cup Italian bread crumbs, crushed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
6 fish fillets

Preheat oven to  375.  In a saucepan, melt butter and spread on the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Crush Italian bread crumbs and pour onto a pie pan.  Add cheese and salt and pepper and blend well. 

Dip the fish first in the butter then into the crumbs.  Place the fish in the baking dish when coated.  Bake fish for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.

Tuscan Squash and Beans on Rice

What do you know, I've finally been using my cookbook again.  I got a little burned out with it and wanted to try some other recipes for the summer.  The good news is that even though I haven't been using my cookbook, I've still been cooking dinner every night and making lots of new recipes.  I guess I don't HATE cooking dinner so much.  I kind of enjoy trying a new recipe and find that if I know WHAT I'm going to cook and am ORGANIZED enough to have the ingredients on hand and do some prep work in the morning, it's not so bad.    Plus I'm finally gaining a little confidence and trusting myself to substitue ingredients or omit them if I don't have them and I don't think it will make a difference.  So, thanks to my friend for giving me this cookbook and helping me through dinner the past year.  I will still try to cook my way through this cookbook (it may take years) but my newest goal is to make breakfast at least 4 times a week. 

I tried the Tuscan Squash and Beans on Rice because I have a lot of zucchini these days and it was really quite tasty.  Here's the recipe:

3 TBS. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 large tomatoes, diced (I used a can of diced tomatoes because I didn't have fresh)
3 cups zucchini, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
3 cloves garlic, pressed
salt and pepper to taste
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained
1 cup brown rice, cooked (did  you know they have brown minute rice?  I just learned that and LOVE it)

     In a saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil.  Stir in onions and bell pepper and cook until tender.  Mix in tomatoes and zucchini and season with oregano, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir beans into Zucchini mixture and continue cooking about 5 minutes  Serve over the cooked rice.....my kids LOVE rice...so I should have made 2 or 3 cups, not just one.

Summer Pasta Primavera

This recipe smelled absolutely delicious and it was pretty good, but sort of bland.  The next day it was a little more flavorful.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Caramelized Garlic Chicken

I have been neglecting this blog for awhile...I have been cooking from my cookbook here and there, just not posting what I've been making.  So, I added a few tonight.  I will give you the recipe to this Caramelized Garlic Chicken because it was really simple and tasty!  If there are any other recipes you'd like, leave me a comment.  I'm just not up to typing all the recipes as I don't think anyone really looks at this blog.

Here's the recipe:

3 tsp. olive oil, plus additional for greasing foiled pan
6 cloves garlic, pressed
6 tsps. brown sugar
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Heat oven to 500 degrees.  Line shallow roasting pan with foil, lightly grease the foil with a little oil.

Heat oil in small skillet over medium-low heat until hot.  Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften (Don't let garlic get brown!)  Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar until well mixed.  Set aside.

Place chicken on greased foil-lined pan, spreading the garlic mixture evenly over chicken.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear. 

The one thing I did wrong was I put way too much oil on my pan that went in the oven (apparently I skimmed over the words lightly and little......the result; a really smoky kitchen.  OOPS.  But, this chicken tasted really good...almost like I had marinated it over night...but no, I just whipped it up in a half an hour.

Will I Make it Again?  Yes!

Pan Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

I was surprised that this was so easy to make AND all of my kids like it.  This is definitely a keeper!