Friday, July 29, 2011

Spaghetti Casserole

8 oz. spaghetti noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg beaters)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 of 10 0z. pkg frozen cut spinach, thawed
1/3 cup onion
3/4 lb. ground beef or turkey
any other vegs. chopped very fine (bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini) optional
4 cups spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 8x8 baking pan.

Toss cooked spaghetti noodles with egg and shredded parmesan. Put in baking dish.

Drain thawed spinach, pressing out any additional liquid, but putting in a colander and pressing out with back of spoon. Spray large skillet.

Cook ground beef or turkey with onion, and any other vegetables you desire (not spinach yet) unti browned, breaking up meat. Drain off any fat. Add spinach and spaghetti sauce and heat through. Add to baking dish on top of noodles.

Top with mozzarella cheese, cover with foil and bake 40-45 minutes or until bubbling. Let sit 10 minutes, cut in squares and serve.

Serves 6. Can be doubled, and half frozen for another time.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Cake Batter Crispy Treats

Cake Batter Crispy Treats




3 TBSP butter
1-10 oz bag of mini marshmallows
1/4 cup yellow cake mix
6 cups rice krispies cereal
1-1.75 oz container of sprinkles


Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in cake mix one spoonful at a time so it's combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle in half the sprinkles and mix. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting. (spraying a knife with non-stick spray helps when cutting)





Recipe and picture from howsweeteats

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. olive oil
6 T. bread crumbs (whole wheat if you can find it)
2 T. panko
2 T. grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 425. Spray baking sheet.

Put olive oil in one bowl. Mix bread crumbs, panko and parmesan in another bowl.

Season chicken with salt and pepper and put in bowl with oil. Mix so all chicken pieces are coated with oil. Put a few pieces at a time into the bread crumb mixture and then onto the baking sheet. Lightly spray with Pam and bake for 8-10 minutes. Turn over and bake til done, about another 4-5 minutes.

From Gina's skinny taste blog.

4 servings 6 pts plus

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Toasted Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

This was a salad that April (Brad's wife) Orr's sister Tammy made for her bridal shower. It was wonderful!

3 lbs. chicken tenders, cooked and cubed
16 oz. radiatore pasta
2 bunches asparagus
2 c. candied pecans (recipe below)
Sesame Ginger Dressing (recipe below)

Rinse asparagus, clip ends, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Cut into 2" chunks. Mix with cubed chicken, candied pecans and add dressing just before serving.

Candied Pecans
1/2 c. melted butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 c. pecans

Preheat oven to 375. Combine melted butter and brown sugar until dissolved. Fold in pecans and spread on 9x13 pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool and break into pieces.

Sesame Ginger Dressing
1/2 c. frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 c. toasted sesame oil
1/2 c. rice vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. worchestershire sauce
2 T. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ginger
4 T. toasted sesame seeds

In a small skillet toast sesame seeds until golden brown (about 2 minutes on medium heat). Mix other ingredients in a blender except seeds. Stir in seeds and put dressing ina bottle. Shake well before serving.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Lemon Buddies


9 cups Rice Chex (Put in bowl and set aside)
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
4 tsps. lemon peel zest
2 T. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients (not Chex) and microwave for 1 minute. Stir and microwave for 30 seconds more. Add to Chex and stir. Put mixture in Ziploc bag and then add 2 cups of powdered sugar and shake!

We had these at a card group recently....they were delicious!! (Mostly I didn't want to lose the recipe. Now I can throw the paper one away!) Here is a link to Chex in case you care about nutrition information! http://www.chex.com/recipes/RecipeView.aspx?RecipeId=49162&CategoryId=447

Easy Fritos Salad

1/2 red pepper, cubed
1/2 yellow pepper, cubed
1/2 orange pepper, cubed
fritos
catalina dressing to taste

Just mix in a bowl and add enough salad dressing to taste. Will not keep, so don't make more than you can eat. This is really yummy! Aunt Laura made it for us when we were in Cardston this summer.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancake Mix


4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
3 1/2 cups oats
3 T. sugar
3 T. baking powder
1 T. salt
1 T. baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil (I have cut this in half with no noticeable difference)

On slow speed in blender, grind oats until chopped fine, but not a powder. If you have a bread mixer, add all dry ingredients and slowly drizzle in oil while mixing with a paddle at low speed. I did this step by hand. Keep in airtight container for 2 weeks or indefinitely in fridge or freezer. 3 pts plus (based on 40 serv)

To make up:
1 cup pancake mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 T. orange juice (I forgot this and they were still good!)

(1/2 c. plain yogurt and 1/2 cup milk can be substituted for the buttermilk, but the buttermilk will make the cakes fluffier.) Let batter sit for 15-20 minutes before frying. The batter may seem a little runny but will thicken as it sets up. Makes 10 pancakes.