Zucchini Soup

1/8 cup olive oil
2-3 medium zucchini
1 medium onion
1 15 oz can white beans, drained (or 1 medium potato)
3 cups chicken broth (or, to make this vegetarian, veg broth)
1 heaping tablespoon of pesto
1 egg (optional)


Heat the oil in the bottom of a soup pot.  Give the zucchini and onion a rough chop then add to the oil to saute.

Once the vegetables are soft, add the beans and broth.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Puree with hand-held or regular blender.  Add the pesto and the egg.  Simmer for another 10 minutes or so, until you can see that the egg is cooked.

It'll look like someone has already maybe tried to eat it and failed, LOL, but trust me this soup is super!!

Lasagna

It looks long and complicated but it's not really, and it's sooo worth it.

Meat
2.5-3 lbs ground beef (80-20)
3 hot Italian sausage
3 sweet Italian sausage
1/4 - 1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2-1 t. each
 -oregano
 -parsley
 -Italian seasoning
 -garlic salt
1/4 c. grated parm
1 egg

1.) Cut sausage into 1-inch pieces, brown over medium to high heat.
2.) Mix all other ingredients, add a little water if it seems dry, shape into 2-inch balls, bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes

Sauce
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
olive oil
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1 t. each:
 -oregano
 -parsley
 -Italian seasoning
 -garlic salt
 -sugar

1.) Coat bottom of large pot with oil, brown garlic over medium heat.
2.) Add rest of ingredients, including browned sausage and meatballs, simmer for several hours over med-low heat.

Lasagna
2 lbs Ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 - 1/2 c. grated parm
no boil noodles
3 16-oz. bags mozzarella cheese
above sauce

1.) Mix Ricotta, egg, parm
2.) Add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 13" pan.
3.) Add a layer of no boil noodles.
4.) Add a layer of ricotta cheese.
5.) Fish out of sauce pot meatballs and sausage, cut up meatballs, add a layer, plus some sauce.
6.) Add a layer of moz.
7.) Repeat until your reach the top, end with moz, sauce, parm.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes

The recipe for the sauce is twice what it needs so you can freeze half of it and not have to go through that (long) step the next time you wanna make this fabulous dish.

Polish Reuben Casserole

2 10.75 oz cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 T. prepared mustard
2 16 oz. cans saur kraut (optional), rinsed and squeezed dry
1 8 oz. package of egg noodles (I used 1 c. penne)
1 13 oz. package of Polish sausage
2 c. shredded swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, combine soup, milk, onions, mustard.

Chop sausage into bite-sized pieces, add to soup.

If using egg noodles add to soup uncooked. If using penne, cook to al-dente, then add to soup/sausage.

Pour into 9x13 lightly sprayed baking dish.

Top with cheese, bake for 1 hour.

I found this recipe on the Dinner Spinner in my Allrecipes.com Droid app. It's my first experience with the app and I must say, I'm impressed. The meal was such a hit that my hubs has requested that we make it at least once a month!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

1 supermarket bought packet of chicken (usually 1-ish pound or so)
1 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 t. thyme or poultry seasoning (either works)
olive oil

Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with Pam or similar.

Mix everything but the chicken together. Depending on how fancy you wanna get, you can either butterfly the chicken and really stuff it, or you can pound each piece flat and roll it up, or you can do it as an "open face" and just layer the cheese mixture onto the chicken.

Once the chicken is in the pan, drizzle a little olive oil over each piece and then sprinkle with a little additional thyme or poultry seasoning.

If you're using thin pieces bake at 350 for 20 minutes; if you're using thick pieces (like thighs) bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Pizza On The Grill

1 c warm water

1 (¼ oz) pkg active dry yeast

1 pinch granulated sugar

2 tsp salt

1 TBS olive oil

3 1/3 c flour

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 TBS fresh basil, chopped

½ c olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

¼ c tomato sauce

1 c tomatoes, chopped

¼ c black olives, sliced

¼ c red pepper, roasted

2 c Mozzarella cheese, shredded

4 TBS fresh basil, chopped

Dissolve yeast in warm water and add sugar. Add salt, olive oil and flour, mix until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead in garlic and basil until smooth. Set aside in a well oiled bowl to rise until doubled. Split the dough in half and form two oblong crusts. Heat the grill and brush the grate with a mixture of olive oil and garlic. Place dough on hot grill, flipping over when lightly browned. Brush oil over crust and 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, half of the tomatoes, half the olives and half the peppers. Sprinkle with one cup of cheese and 2 tablespoons basil. Close the lid and cook until the cheese melts. Repeat with the second pizza.

Serves 2

Source: My Sister, Colleen

Chow Mein

1 lb chicken cooked and diced (buy a roasted chicken and use all but one breast)
4 - 5 cups of course cut celery 1/4" to 3/8"
1 cup diced 1/4" onion

1 10 oz.can chicken broth (separated)

3 TBSP of Corn Starch added to 1/4 Cup chicken broth

1 4 ounce can of drained mushrooms (chopped)
1 8 ounce can of drained bamboo shoots (chopped)
1 8 ounce can of water chestnuts (chopped)
2 TBSP Soy Sauce

In a large frying pan, add celery and onion. Sauté until the celery starts to become translucent.

If you use frozen celery and onion, there is plenty of water that comes out, so you won’t need to add any additional. If you use fresh, you may need to add some water (or the chicken broth) to sauté rather than dry cook them.

Cook 15 to 20 minutes at medium heat, stirring constantly.

Mix 3 T corn starch to ¼ c. chicken broth, stir into pan with celery & onions

Add balance of 10 ounce can of chicken broth.

Add the diced chicken and stir.

Add
1 4 ounce can of drained mushrooms
1 8 ounce can of drained bamboo shoots
1 14 ounce can of drained bean sprouts
1 8 ounce can of water chestnuts
2 TBSP Soy Sauce

Stir in until evenly distributed

Turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes or so.

Serve over hard noodles, topped with cooked white rice, soy sauce and cashews.

Sausage, Peppers & Pasta

2 hot Italian sausages
2 sweet Italian sausages
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 c. tomato sauce
1/4 c. red wine
2 c. ziti
Italian Seasoning

Cook ziti according to instructions on box.

Brown sausage in olive oil, then take out of pan, chop into bite-sized pieces and put back into pan. Add onion and pepper and cook until softened. Add tomato sauce and wine. Correct seasoning if needed with Italian Seasonings. When hot, mix with cooked ziti. Add more tomato sauce if necessary.



Notes: This is a great dish to throw together fairly quickly and have plenty of leftovers for the next day.

Source: Coyle Family

Excellent Chicken Parm

1 ½ or so lbs of skinless, boneless thin-sliced chicken breast
1 large egg
2 T. water
2/3 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 jar Classico spaghetti sauce (I use the tomato/basil flavor, have also tried four cheese and roasted garlic)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a small bowl mix egg and water.

In another small bowl mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese

Dip raw chicken into egg/water mixture, then into bread crumb/cheese mixture to coat, then line them into a glass or metal baking dish until there is one layer of breaded chicken. Pour the sauce over the chicken until it’s covered. Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan out of the container. Top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Notes: This is an excellent heart-healthy alternative to the classic breaded and fried chicken parm. Also, the chicken can be substituted with eggplant for Eggplant Parm.

Source: Betty Crocker