Zucchini and Tomato Penne

I decided to try zucchini for the first time, if you don't count it being in bread. I found this recipe online (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Zucchini-Parmesan#.UCLRNYhXEfo.pinterest) for zucchini and tomatoes, but I tweaked it and served it over pasta. It was delicious!! You can serve it with cooked hamburger or chicken if you'd like, too. I also used 2 zucchini, 1 tomato, and cut the spice portions in half for a few servings, or you can cut the recipe in half

1/2 to 1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 fresh slicing tomato or 1 1/2 Roma tomatoes, chopped.
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
1/4 teaspoon onion salt 
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, saute garlic in oil. Add zucchini; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Stir in the tomatoes, and then seasonings. Simmer, uncovered, for 9-10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and mixture is heated through.

 Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and then serve over pasta (penne, angel hair, or whichever you desire). Yield: 6 servings.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I made this a little while ago and haven't had the chance to put it on here yet, but this chicken cordon bleu casserole is another winner! It would be a great recipe for when guests come over or for families. I enjoyed it, but it supplied a lot of left-overs. However, it was still worth making!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (from Six Sisters' Stuff)

(This picture isn't the best, but Six Sisters' Stuff has a much better one that fully shows what it tastes like.)

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz) pkg. chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon prepared, Dijon mustard
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups fresh  (or frozen, cooked) broccoli florets
2 cups cooked, chopped ham
6 slices of extra thin Swiss cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Prepare stuffing as directed on package.  Mix soup and mustard in medium bowl; stir in chicken, broccoli and ham. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with cheese slices and stuffing.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through.



 

Easy Pizza Rolls

I didn't think these would be too spectacular since they are so easy to make, but they are definitely worth it! They would be especially nice to try if you are a college student or newly wed, since they don't use as many ingredients. The original recipe creates a lot, however, I used 5 biscuit roll doughs (from one can) and sprinkled each one with the seasonings and placed inside enough for each one.

Easy Pizza Rolls (adapted from http://richestoragsbydori.blogspot.com/2012/03/mini-post-pepperoni-pizza-rolls.html )

Ingredients:

3 cans Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits (10 biscuits per can) (remember what I said on how you can cut back)
56 pepperoni slices (you can still cut back) or ham and pineapple or whichever pizza fillings you would desire
Mozerella cheese, sliced or shredded
1 beaten egg
Parmesan
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
1 jar pizza sauce

Flatten a biscuit out and stack toppings and cheese on top.

(I cut 2 slices of ham in half and stacked them on top of the cheese, then cut 2 cubes of pineapple and placed them on top as well.)

Gather up the edges of the biscuit.

 
Line the rolls up in a greased 9x13 in. pan.  Brush with beaten egg.  Sprinkle with parmesan, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.  Bake at 425°F for 18-20 minutes.

Be careful when first biting in them, because the filling will be hot. Serve the rolls with warm pizza sauce for dipping.  

Nutella Rice Krispie Treats

There is one word to describe these: danger. If you love Nutella, you are in trouble. Why? These are sooooooooo good. I can't even tell you how addicting they are. I made a whole batch and after giving a few out, there were still quite a few left over. I couldn't stop eating them, so I brought them to work, where they also agreed on how divine they are.  Seriously, if you don't try these, you are missing out! This isn't one of my "healthier" recipes, but you still have to try them!

 Nutella Rice Krispy Treats (from http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/03/nutella-rice-krispy-treats/ )

Ingredients

6 cups Rice Krispy Cereal
1 (10.5 oz) bag mini marshmallows
1/4 cup butter
1 heaping cup Nutella 
 
- TOPPING: 


1 Tbsp. shortening 
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup Nutella

Instructions

1. Measure out Rice Krispies cereal into a large bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and marshmallows together until smooth.
3. Once marshmallows and butter have melted together add Nutella and stir until well combined.
4. Pour marshmallow mixture over the cereal. Stir to coat evenly. Press into a greased pan.
5. To make topping, heat Nutella, chocolate chips and shortening in a medium sauce pan over medium-medium low heat until smooth. Spread over the top of Rice Krispy Treats.
6. Stick in the fridge and let it set up. Once they have set, cut into them and eat up!

Healthy Banana Bread

This is honestly one of the best recipes I've ever tried. Earlier on, I posted a banana bread recipe. That one is sweeter than this one and has a different flavor, but this one is almost all healthy ingredients. It is moist and has some good nutrients with a hint of protein from Greek Yogurt. This would make a great gift for someone in the fall, too. If you want to try a healthy, delicious bread recipe, you need to try this.

Healthy Banana Bread
 (adapted from http://theshiksa.com/2012/06/13/greek-yogurt-banana-nut-bread/)

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 lb.)
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (whole, 2% or nonfat)
• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Dash of cloves
• Dash of nutmeg
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (I didn't use them.)
• Nonstick cooking oil spray

You will also need

• Electric mixer, large mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl, small mixing bowl, spatula, 2 loaf pans (a medium and a small one) or 2 medium pans if you don't fill each one almost to the brim.

Total Time: 1 Hour
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Cut the butter into small chunks and place in a large mixing bowl along with the sugar and brown sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and sugar for a few minutes. Make sure the butter is fully integrated into the sugar and the mixture becomes small, even sized crumbs.

Add the eggs and applesauce to the bowl and continue to mix till smooth.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork till smooth. Add the mashed bananas, Greek yogurt, and vanilla to the bowl. Use a spatula to stir the mixture till smooth.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and nutmeg. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet to make a thick batter. Don't over mix-- a few lumps are okay.

 If you are going to use walnuts, fold them in.

Grease two loaf pans with nonstick cooking oil spray. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.

Bake the banana bread for about 50-55 minutes, till the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. If the top of the bread browns faster than it bakes, cover with foil for the remainder of baking time.

Homemade Mini Taco Bowls

 Homemade mini taco bowls

These mini taco bowls are easy to make and add a different change to tacos. All you need to do:

 Preheat oven to 375.

Slice a tortilla in half (1 tortilla for every 2 bowls.)

Spray the bottom of a muffin tin with cooking spray

Carefully form each tortilla half in between each muffin cup. You can carefully fold the edges that protrude inside to help create the bowl shape.

Place muffin tin in oven for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

Fill with prepared taco meat, lettuce, cheese, tomato, sour cream, or whichever fillings you desire.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

This is one of my absolute favorite potato recipes. These potatoes are not fried; they are healthily made with a delicious kick of Italian flavor. They go well as a side but if you don't feel like eating meat, it can be a great main course. They are super easy to make, but require patience because your house will smell so good while they cook for an hour. I have made these several times since they are that good!

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes (from http://www.lovintheoven.com/2011/10/parmesan-roasted-potatoes.html)

Ingredients

• 4 medium potatoes, rinsed and diced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• pinch of salt
• couple grinds of fresh black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• 4-5 tbsp parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pour the potatoes into a baking dish.
3. Drizzle olive oil on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle the rest of the seasonings on top. Use a large spoon to evenly coat all of the potatoes.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, making sure to move the pieces around every 15 minutes.

Sour Cream Baked Chicken

 Here is another delicious chicken recipe. It's very simple and easy to make. The chicken absorbs the sour cream, keeping it moist and tasty. What is nice about it is there are no specific measurements, which allows you to make a single serving.

Sour Cream Baked Chicken (from http://www.lovintheoven.com/2012/02/sour-cream-baked-chicken.html)

Ingredients:

• chicken breasts
• italian seasoning
• pepper
• salt
• reduced-fat sour cream
• bread crumbs
• shredded parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Put your chicken breasts on top. Sprinkle the italian seasoning, pepper, and salt on top.
3. Slather each piece generously with sour cream.
4. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the sour cream.
5. Put parmesan cheese on top.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Chicken & Apple Sausage with Apples and Onions

Tired of chicken? Here is another delicious recipe to try. The "chicken and apple" is just part of the sausage, so I don't consider it to be a chicken recipe. It may sound like a weird combination of ingredients at first, but this is one of my family's favorite dishes. I was longing for a taste from home a while ago so I decided to make it. I even brought left overs to work for lunch one day and a few people mentioned how yummy it smelled. This is simplified from the recipe from the Aidell's website: http://aidells.com/recipe/275

Chicken & Apple Sausage with Apples and Onions

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Aidells Chicken Apple Sausage
1 large (preferably red) onion, thinly sliced
2 small apples (preferably green, however, I used Gala), cored and chopped
1/4 C apple juice or apple cider
dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Rice-A-Roni, cooked according to package (I believe it's butter and water added to it.)

Instructions

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages whole and brown for 5 minutes on each side.

 Remove them, slice them up and add them back to the pan. Add the remaining butter and the onion to the pan. Sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the apples and sauté for 2-3 minutes longer. They should be cooked but still firm.

Pour in the cider and reduce over high heat for 3 or 4 minutes, until the sauce is syrupy.
Serve with Rice-A Roni or pasta

Slow Cooker Mango Salsa Chicken Salad

This recipe was absolutely tasty. I usually do not like eating left overs again and again, however, I ate this for dinner almost a week straight. It was sweet and flavorful with just enough zest. All you need to do is throw the 6 (I used 5) ingredients into the crock pot and allow to cook. I love to top this as part of a salad (Cafe Rio style), however, you can also roll it up with rice into a warm tortilla. You won't regret giving this a try! (This recipe is adapted from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/02/healthy-meals-monday-slow-cooker-mango.html.) P.S. I only used 2 large chicken breasts, and it still turned out just fine.

Mango Salsa Chicken Salad

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine were frozen)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (However, I didn't use beans because I really don't like them.)
3 cups mango salsa (This large jar was from Costco.)
Cumin to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp.)
Lemon Pepper to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp.) Or (what I did), about 1 tsp of lemon juice and 1/8 tsp pepper

Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour over chicken breasts and cook on high for 4-6 hours.

Garnish with cilantro or parsley, if desired.

Different ways to serve the chicken:
 with tortilla chips
over rice
as part of a salad (see below for details)
With rice rolled up inside a tortila.

For the salad:

Mix up romaine lettuce with green, leafy lettuce. Warm up a whole wheat tortilla. Serve the lettuce on top of the tortilla, then top about a 1/2 C rice, then the mango salsa chicken. If desired, shred Monterey Jack cheese on top for extra flavor. Sqeeze a dash of lemon juice on top. There is no need for dressing since the salsa from the chicken provides enough tender texture and flavor. Enjoy!!