Can you Stay for Dinner?

I just launch my new webpage.  I will be migrating over my recipes on here, and also including content that has to do with fitness, and DIY Lotions and Potions. 

My husband and I have improved our eating habits and are eating healthier then ever. We even tried the paleo diet for a little bit, and we try to stick to it as much as we can. 

Green Beans, Chicken and Potatoes

Ingredients

·        4 medium potatoes, cut

·        2 c. green beans, cut

·        1 lb chicken breasts

·        1/2 c. butter

·        1 package Italian dressing mix

1. Cut green beans up. Line one side of the pan with green beans.

2. Cut potatoes up. Line opposite side of pan with the potatoes.

3. Line the chicken breasts down the middle of the baking dish.

4. Cut butter up and layer over the green beans, potatoes and chicken.

Crockpot Meatball Stew

Ingredients

Homemade or 12 oz pkg frozen

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 cups (about 4 large) carrots, cleaned and sliced

1 medium onion, chopped finely

3 stalks celery, cleaned and sliced

1 (10 3/4 oz) can tomato soup

1 (10 1/2 oz) can beef gravy

1 cup water

1 envelope onion soup mix

2 beef bouillon cubes or 2 teaspoons granules

  Combine and cook meatballs

Chop vegetables and place in large pot or slow cooker

Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine

Stir in meatballs

Stovetop: Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour or until vegetables are tender

Slow Cooker: Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until vegetables are tender

Notes                                 

Crockpot Chicken and noodle soup

Ingredients

5 cups of chicken broth (boxed or can is fine)

One 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onions, chopped fine

1/2 cup celery, chopped fine

1/2 cup carrots, chopped fine

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

One 15 oz can of whole kernel corn, drained

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 1/2 cup Egg noodles

4 chicken thighs

  Add everything but the noodles and cooked chicken to the crock pot on

 Low for 5-6 hours, the last hour turn on High, and add noodles

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

4 C whole wheat flour 1 packet bread machine yeast (approx 2.5 tsp) 1.5 C warm water 3 TBSP olive oil 1 TBSP sugar 2 tsp salt 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp dried minced garlic (up to 1 tsp depending on how garlic-y you like your crust)

To make:

1. While I suggest following the directions that came with your bread machine as far as what order to add your ingredients, a general rule of thumb is to add wet ingredients first. Then add the dry, with the yeast at the very top, not touching the wet ingredients. 2. I add the water, then olive oil, following by: flour, sugar, salt, Parmesan cheese, garlic. Then I poke a little indent in the top of the dry ingredients and pour the yeast into the hole. 3. Turn your bread machine on and choose the “dough” setting. Sit back and let your bread machine take over! (This process takes my machine about 1.5 hours.)

4. When your dough is finished, remove from the machine. 5. Decide if you want to keep your dough in one piece (for a larger pizza) or, if desired, break evenly into two balls for two pizzas. We have actually been able to get 2 smaller thinner crust pizzas out of 1/2 of the dough, so in other words, 1 batch of this recipe tends to yield 4 thin crust pizzas, approx 12 inches in diameter. 6. Set dough aside to let rise for 20 minutes.

7. Label a Ziploc bag for each ball of dough and spray the inside of each bag with non-stick cooking spray. Place each ball of dough in a bag and stick in the freezer.

8. You can, of course, skip the freezing part if you intend to make your pizza that night. Otherwise, pull the dough out of the freezer several hours before you intend to start cooking it to give it time to defrost.

The sky is the limit when it comes to toppings!

1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup sour cream (I used fat free) 2 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon 1 1/2 cups cinnamon chips Topping: 3 Tbsp sugar + 3 tsp. cinnamon

Been on a hiatus! 

chocolate chip cookie dough truffles

Makes approx. 3-4 dozen. Recipe from Love and Olive Oil.

ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1/3 cup milk or soy milk 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

14 oz dark chocolate candy coating

directions:

Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.

When dough is firm enough to handle, form dough into 1″ balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Place sheets in freezer and let chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate candy coating in microwave according to package directions. Using toothpicks as a dipping tool, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Tap on side of pan to remove any excess coating, and return to waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Chill until set. Store, chilled, in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Bowl of Crunch - Pasta Salad

Salad Ingredients;

1 lb Rotini Pasts

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Green Pepper

1 Yellow Pepper

2 Cucumbers

1/2 Red Onion

1/4 Cup Chopped Black Olives

Dressing Ingredients

3/4 Cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt

2 tbsp Fat Free Mayo

2 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Lime Juice

1 tsp Season Salt

Black Pepper to taste

Directions;

1. Cook Pasta, Toss in cold water, drain and let it cool.

2. Finely dice all the vegetables, combine in a bowl, add pasta and mix everything together.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients: 9 lasagna noodles, cooked  10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained  15 oz fat free ricotta cheese 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese  1 egg  salt and fresh pepper  32 oz tomato sauce (recipe follows) 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded  Directions: Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle.

Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese.

Pasta Pie

serves 8

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

1 small onion, finely chopped

1¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided

½ teaspooon sea salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1½ pound (24 ounces) ground beef (preferably freshly ground)

14 ounces ditalini pasta, about 5 cups cooked

1 pound (16 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

3 cups marinara sauce, divided

Instructions:

Spray a deep dish pie pan with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix the bread crumbs, parsley, onion, ½ cup Parmigiano cheese, salt and pepper together until well blended. Add the eggs and ground beef and toss gently until ingredients are blended.  Do not over mix.  Form a crust about an inch thick with the meat mixture in the pie plate.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the ditalini pasta until just al dente.  Do not overcook - the pasta needs to be slightly underdone because it will cook further in the oven.  Drain the pasta.

In another large bowl, mix the cooked pasta with ¾ cup of the grated Parmigiano cheese, the mozzarella cheese and 2 cups of the marinara sauce.  Mix well and then pour into the meat crust, forming a high dome with the pasta.  Cover with nonstick foil.

Bake at 350 for 1½ hours, removing the foil the last 15 minutes to get the top a little crusty.  Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes before serving.  

Taco Pasta Bake

8 oz. of cooked pasta

1 lb. hamburger (I used ground turkey)

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 cup of water

4 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese

Boil pasta, don't over cook it as you will be baking it later. I like rigatoni and ziti for this recipe, but any big noodles will do. While pasta is cooking, brown ground beef. 

Pizza Quesadillas (aka Pizzadillas)

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 (10 inch) tortilla

1 cup mozzarella, shredded

3 tablespoons pizza sauce

16 slices pepperoni

1 tablespoon sliced black olives

3 tablespoons pizza sauce

1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

3 slices pepperoni

1 tablespoon sliced black olives

Directions

Heat a large pan over medium heat.

Place one tortilla in the pan, sprinkle half of the cheese over it, followed by the pizza sauce, pepperoni, olives, the remaining cheese and finally the remaining tortilla.

Cook until the quesadilla is golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Spread the pizza sauce over the top of the quesadilla followed by the mozzarella, pepperoni and olives.

Golden Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients 1 (8-ounce) package elbow macaroni 2 cups milk (I use whole milk) 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon onion salt 2 (10-ounce) blocks sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded and divided ( I use one block of Sharp Cheddar and one block of Extra-Sharp Cheddar cheese) 1 cup soft plain breadcrumbs ( The recipe suggest homemade breadcrumbs, but I use store bought - not Italian breadcrumbs, just plain) 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted (I use butter)

COOK macaroni according to package directions; drain well. Set aside. PLACE milk, flour, and onion salt in a quart jar; cover tightly, and shake vigorously 1 minute.

STIR together flour mixture, 3 1/2 cups cheese, and macaroni.

POUR macaroni mixture into a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish or 2 (11 inch) oval baking dishes.

Sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs and remaining 1 cup cheese; drizzle evenly with melted butter.

Creamy Potatoes with Ham Recipe

Ingredients

1 package frozen hash browns (16 ounces)

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

8 ounces cooked ham (cubed or chopped)

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (10 1/2 ounces)

1 package sour cream (8 ounces)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 Tablespoons margarine (melted)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl-place mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.

3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until potatoes are tender.

BROWN SUGAR AND CINNAMON COOKIES

2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour 2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 170 g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 190 deg C (375 degrees F). Prepare baking sheets with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until well incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as you go.