Parmesan Chicken

This recipe is great for an easy, delicious, quick meal. :)

Ingredients
6 Boneless Chix Breast
2 Tbls Melted Butter
1/2 cup Grated Parm Cheese
1/4 cup dry Bread Crumbs
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Parsely Flakes
1/4 tsp Paprika
Salt & Pepper
Lemon
Spaghetti Sauce

Serve with Spaghetti or Cous Cous

1. Heat oven to 400*. Spray Baking Pan with non stick cooking spray or cover with Foil.
2. Mix Parm Cheese, Bread Crumbs, Oregano, Parsley, Paprika, Salt and Pepper together in a bowl. Dip Chicken breasts into butter, coat with combined ingedients. Place in prepared pan.
2.Bake 20-25 minutes or until tender. Squeeze Fresh lemon. Top with Spaghetti Sauce and more parma cheese.

(...makes great leftovers!)

Maman's Spaghetti Sauce

This is my mother's recipe for homemade marinara sauce. I've been eating it all my life, as has Jess! I never get sick of it, and I love making tons of it so I have leftovers during the week. I prefer linguine over spaghetti, but do as you wish.
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 box linguine (500g)
1/2 lb ground beef (don't use anything fattier than 15%, I like to use 10%)
1 chopped onion

4 cloves chopped garlic

1 can tomato paste + 2-3 cans water

1 can mushroom stems/pieces, drained (or use fresh cut)

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp oregano (my mother calls this marijuana.. lol)

1 tbsp basil

1 tbsp parsley

Salt/Pepper to taste

Parmesan/Swiss to top
Directions:
1. In a large enough saucepan, cook your ground beef and garlic. Do not add any oil. The meat will give off enough juices to cook in.
2. Start boiling your water for the pasta
3. Once the meat is cooked, turn off the heat and scoop it out with a holy serving spoon to keep the juices in the pan. Put it aside for later.
4. Turn the heat back on and brown your onion a bit in the juices. Throw in your thyme, bay leaves, oregano, and basil and let brown.
5. Add mushrooms and stir for a few minutes.
6. Add the can of tomato paste, and 2 cans of water. Wear an apron, or just don't wear white! Stir until the paste disolves in the water, and put the heat on low.

7. Add the meat and parsley. If you think the sauce is too thick, add a little more water and stir in.

8. Taste and add salt and pepper how you like it.

9. Let simmer while you wait for your pasta to finish cooking....

Then serve piping hot with parmesan and shredded swiss on top! Yes, I use both because I can never decide!

Easy Granola

I found this recipe in Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn. I was looking for a quick morning snack since I don't want to spend a lot of time on breakfast for myself. I thought this was a nice change from my plain cheerios (boring.) and coffee. Probably even better on yogurt, or frozen yogurt. Yes, I am always thinking of dessert! The recipe makes for 24 servings but quartered it for a smaller batch. It is so easy to make and will last up to 4 weeks if you do decide to make the amount the recipe yields!

Ingredients

12 cups quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

4 cups "goodies" (nuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, trail mix, coconut, dried fruit)

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup honey

*I added a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar to the mixture

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a very large bowl, combine oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar if you and whatever "goodies" you are using. Mix well.

3. Combine oil and honey in a 2-cup glass measuring cup (or glass bowl). Microwave 2-3 minutes until hot. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Spread mixture over prepared baking sheets; bake until light to medium brown, 15-20 minutes. If you have a convection oven, bake all 3 pans at the same time. Otherwise it's best to bake each pan individually on the center rack of oven.

5. Let granola cool. It will break up somewhat as you transfer it to a storage container, but try to leave big chunks if you prefer.

Fudge Pie

I get more excited about desserts than making meals so I had to add this. I came across it from another blog and made it for my in-laws. It's so simple and yummy you can't not make it! If you don't have self-rising flour use the same amount of all purpose flour plus 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. baking soda.

1 stick melted butter

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1/4 C. cocoa

1/4 C. self-rising flour

1 C. sugar

1 ready to bake regular size pie shell {not deep dish}

Mix ingredients together in bowl with fork until well combined. Avoid using a mixer if possible, over beating the filling will cause the top to rise and crack after baking. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Cover edges with foil if they get too brown. Let sit for 10-15 or as long as you possibly can resist. Top with ice cream and enjoy!

Summer Stuffed Tomato Salad

I didn't make this but it is really good and presents really nicely! The eggs are fresh from the hens in the garden. The yolks are so yellow it looks like pollen! Delicious.
Ingredients:
-can of tuna
-can of mixed vegetables
-some tomatoes (1 per guest)
-some hardboiled eggs (1 per 2 guests)
-1 or 2 tbsp mayonaise
Directions:
1. Core the tomatoes
2. In a large salad bowl, mix the drained can of vegetables and tuna with the mayonaise (add whatever you want as well (pieces of ham, surimi, avocado.. play with it)
3. Spoon the mixture into your tomatoes. Put the rest of the mixture in your serving dish to make it look nice.
4. Cut the hardboiled eggs in 4 and arrange them nicely. With some of the yolk, sprinkle some on top.
Serve as an appetizer or a side dish to a nice bbq!

Indian Lentils REMIX!

This IS the REMIXX to Steph's Indian Lentils!! :)

It was very yummie and healthy! Everyone enjoyed them! I will use more mustard seeds next time bc Steph's were more Yellow.

Springtime Pasta

This Pasta is light and fresh.. perfect for Summertime (Or Springtime)! This one is from my "Family Circle" cookbook... (recipe collections for busy families). :)

Ingredients


1 lb Cavatappi or Corkscrew shape pasta
1 tbls EVOO
1 1/2 Chicken Breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Yellow Pepper, cut into thin strips
1 bunch (1 lb) of fresh Asparagus cut into two inch pieces
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
1 Packages spreadable Herb Cheese
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper

Directions
1. Bring Large pot of water to boil. Add Pasta, return to boil. Cook for 6 minutes

2. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium heat. Add oil. Add Chicken. Cook for 6 minutes. During last minute, add yellow pepper to skillet. Then, remove from heat.

3. Once pasta has cooked for 6 minutes, add asparagus. Cook for 2 minutes longer. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the water, set aside. Then, drain the pasta.

4. In a Large Bowl, toss together the hot pasta and asparagus, chicken and yellow pepper, tomatoes, herb cheese, reserved 1/4 cup pasta water, salt and pepper... until well blended and cheese is melted.

5. ENJOY!!


Nutritional
Makes 8 servings
Per Serving:
395 Calories, 10g total fat, 74mg cholesterol, 248mg sodium, 47g carbohydrate, 3g Fiber, 30g protein

Tips
To reshape your Pasta recipes:
1. When using tomato sauces, use brands with 50 - 80 calories per 1/2 cup serving.
2. Bulk your bowl with high fiber vegetables, such as cauliflower and broccoli. (It will help you stay full longer and will cut calories)
3. Use non-stick skillets to cook, as they can meet your needs by using half the original amount of oil.