Chicken & Spinach Pasta

Chicken & Spinach Pasta

4 oz Pasta Noodles

2 Tomatoes, chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

4 Tb Fat Free Italian Dressing

2 oz Parmesan Cheese, shredded

1 c Artichokes, chopped

8 c Spinach

1 c diced Chicken

Cook noodles as directed on package.  In sauce pan, saute garlic in Italian Dressing for 2-3 minutes.   Add chicken and cooked until done.  Add tomatoes, artichokes and spinach.  Cook until spinach wilts.  Add cooked noodles and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings, 232 calories per serving.

Taco Soup

I love soup!  I can eat it all year round.  In the summer, I just turn on the AC so I don't melt while eating it! One of my favorite soups is Taco Soup!  You can either cook it in the crock pot and let the flavors intensify and the beans soften, or you can cook on your stove top.  Either way, it is super easy and delicious!

Taco Soup

2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can drained corn (can use 1 c of frozen corn)
1 can drained green beans
1 lb ground turkey or beef
2 cans drained kidney beans
1 Onion, diced
3-5 Tbs Taco Seasoning
Tortilla Chips
Cheese
Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

Saute onion in a little olive oil. Add meat and cook until done.  Add all ingredients to the crockpot except the chips, cheese and sour cream or yogurt.  Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  Serve with chips, cheese and sour cream or yogurt.

Fall is here!

I think I am one of the few people who actually enjoy Fall!  After a long and hot summer, I am ready for some cooler temperatures.  I did a lot of cooking over the summer, but neglected my blog.  It will be fun to recreate them so I can share them!  

Potato Cheese Soup

I was looking through my old recipes and came across this one. It is from home ec in Junior High.  It sounded really good and easy, so I decided to make it on a cold, snowy day a few weeks ago.  I have made a few changes from the original recipe to update it.   It is now a soup that make about every other week.  

Potato Cheese Soup

2 potatoes peeled and finely diced

1 onion diced

1 c Celery chopped

Cook in water until tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain potatoes and add to prepared white sauce.

Sauce

2 c milk

4 tb butter

4 tb flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese

4 pieces bacon, crumbled

2 tb Parsley

In large saucepan, melt butter and combine with flour.  Cook for about 3 minutes to cook out the flour taste.  Add milk and stir over medium heat.  When sauce begins to thicken, remove from heat.  Add in cheese and stir to melt.  Add in cooked potatoes and parsley.  Garnish with crumbled bacon and shredded cheese.

Turkey Meatballs

One of my favorite Italian dishes is Spaghetti and Meatballs.  I have always wanted to make it at home, but my sister doesn't like hamburger.  I stumbled across a recipe for Chicken meatballs and adapted it for Turkey.  The reason for that is my grocery store doesn't carry ground chicken regularly.  Or if they do, it is gone by the time I get there on Saturday night.  These are moist and very flavorful.  I love to make these in big batches and freeze them.  They last about 3 months in the freezer.

Turkey Meatballs
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Egg
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 c Italian breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh Oregano, chopped (substitute 1 tsp dried Oregano)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Place all items in bowl and mix with hands.  Shape into 1 inch balls.  I use my small cookie scoop to do this and it works perfectly.    Place meatballs on lined baking sheet.  Cook at 375 for 20 minutes.  Add to spaghetti sauce and serve over noodles.

Scalloped Potatoes

One of the few meats I can get my sister to eat, is ham.  Well, you can't have ham without scalloped potatoes, at least at my house!   They were a staple on many holidays while growing up.  They have become one of my favorite side dishes.  I researched lots of recipes and tried many, only to be disappointed.  They either were too much like the funeral potatoes Utah is famous for or had way too much cream in them.  Don't get me wrong, I love cream, but not the calories that come with it.  I decided to try evaporated milk instead of cream.  It was really good, however, I found fat free evaporated milk and decided to try that instead.  I couldn't even tell the difference.  The dish was still very creamy and delicious!   Also, I only use sharp cheddar cheese.  As my sister says, "If you can't taste it, why eat it!"   If I have the time, I will use my mandolin and slice the potatoes.  I bought my mandolin at Crate and Barrel.  I love it because it is so small and fits easily into my dishwasher.  I used to use my food processor, but that thing is big and causes way too many dishes!  If you don't have time, you can use the already sliced potatoes you can purchase at the grocery store.

Scalloped Potatoes

4 Small White Potatoes, washed and sliced very thinly
1 Small Onion, diced (can be omitted if you don't like onions)
1 can Fat Free Evaporated Milk
1/2-1 C Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 Tb Parsley
Panko Bread Crumbs
Oil Olive or Butter Spray
Salt & Pepper

Wash and slice potatoes with mandolin.  Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Put one layer of potatoes on bottom, layer onions, 1 layer of cheese, 1/2 can of milk, then salt and pepper.  Repeat layer of potatoes, then pour remaining milk over potatoes.  Salt and pepper top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Sprinkle with desired amount of bread crumbs and parsley.  Either spray top with butter spray or drizzle a little olive oil on top to create a crunchy, cheesy top.  Cover with foil and cook on 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and return to oven for an additional 15 minutes.

Caprese Sandwich

My Sister and I went to Cancun, Mexico a few years ago for vacation.  After a day of flying and having no lunch, we were starving by the time we got to the hotel.  The hotel was beautiful and had just reopened after a hurricane that did some major destruction in the area.  We were with a rather large group of over 100 people and we quickly filled that little restaurant up.  We were so hungry, that we decided to get an appetizer while we waited for our actual meal.  We decided to get the caprese sandwich.  Neither of us had ever had this before and it sounded so good.  It did not disappoint.  My picky sister even ordered it again a few days later!  We loved it so much, we decided to try replicate it at home.  We still talk about the food on that vacation because it was as fabulous as the hotel, room, pool and spa treatments we had.  The best part, the trip was free!  My sister was so nice to share that wonderful gift with me.  We have done many sister trips and this one was amazing!

Caprese Sandwich

2 Plum, Heirloom or Roma Tomatoes
1 Ball of Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, sliced
6 Basil Leaves
4 Slices of Sour Dough Bread, sliced (Can use french bread)
Oil Olive
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Brush bread with oil olive and toast in oven.  Place mozzarella cheese on bread, tomatoes (salt & pepper these) drizzle with vinegar and top with basil leaves.  Top with other piece of bread and enjoy!