Baked Veggie Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 12 oz whole wheat penne pasta
• About 12 oz pasta sauce
• 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375.  Prepare pasta according to package directions.
• Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-low heat.  Saute peppers, onions, and garlic just until softened.  Add ground beef and brown, keeping drippings in the pan for flavor.  Remove from heat and add pasta and pasta sauce, stirring until well-coated.
• Spoon half of the mixture into a 2-qt baking dish, cover with half of the cheese.  Repeat with remaining pasta and cheese.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Spicy Mexican Shredded Beef

Ingredients:

• 1 4-5 pound chuck roast (venison works great too!)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups diced green chile peppers
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 5 oz hot pepper sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Water

Instructions:

• Season roast with salt and pepper.  Place in crock pot and sprinkle onion over meat.  Add remaining ingredients.  Pour in enough water to cover 1/3 of the roast.
• Cover and cook on High for 6 hours, then reduce to Low for 2-4 more hours.  Meat is done when it is tender enough to fall apart.  Shred meat.
• For burritos, place shredded meat in a frying pan with a cup of the cooking liquid.  Simmer until thickened.
• Also great in enchiladas.

Chicken Broccoli Bake

Adapted from This Hungry Mama Bakes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
• 1 can Fit & Active cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup mayo made with olive oil
• Curry powder to taste
• 2 cups cooked broccoli
• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups corn flakes
• 1/2 T butter, melted

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Spread shredded chicken in bottom of 2 qt baking dish.
• In a bowl, mix soup, mayo, and curry powder.  Spread over chicken.  Top with broccoli and cheddar cheese.
• In another bowl, stir melted butter and corn flakes.  Sprinkle over cheese.
• Bake 25-30 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Southwestern Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

• 2 TBS lime juice
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small yellow summer squash
• 2 TBS vegetable oil
• 1/3 c medium picante sauce
• 2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

• Mix lime juice and chili powder in resealable bag; stir in chicken.  Refrigerate at least 15 minutes.
• Cut zucchini and yellow squash into thin slices.
• Heat 1 TBS vegetable oil in wok over high heat.  Add chicken and marinade.  Stir fry until chicken is no longer pink in center.  Remove from wok.
• Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok.  Add zucchini and yellow squash.  Stir fry until vegetables are crisp-tender.  
• Add chicken, picante sauce and cilantro to the wok.  Cook and stir until heated through.

Chicken Fried Rice

This is a very easy recipe! Just make sure you use cold cooked rice, so PLAN AHEAD! If you have one, you're going to want to use a large wok for this recipe; otherwise, it's hard to keep it all contained once you put all the ingredients together!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked white rice, COLD (I like to do half brown, half white rice)
• 5 or 6 green onions
• 2 or 3 eggs
• 2 or 3 TBS water
• Butter
• 1 cup peas, cooked
• 1 cup carrots, cooked
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (should yield about 1 cup chopped cooked chicken)
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
• About 1 TBS vegetable oil
• Soy sauce to taste

Instructions:

• Cook rice and refrigerate until completely cooled.
• Chop green onions.
• In a small bowl, beat 1 egg with 1 TBS water. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add egg and leave flat for a couple minutes. Remove from skillet and cut into shreds. Repeat with second egg. Set aside.
• Cook peas & carrots to desired tenderness. Drain & set aside.
• Meanwhile, cook chicken breast in wok, seasoning with black pepper and adding minced garlic toward the end of the cook time. Chop chicken and set aside.
• Heat oil in wok. Add rice, onions, peas, carrots, chicken, and soy sauce. Stir fry together for about 5 minutes. Stir in egg. Serve hot.

Yield: This recipe will serve 2-3 people.

Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground or shredded beef (great way to use up leftover roast!)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pkg dry enchilada sauce mix
• 10 10" flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 + 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook meat with onion in a skillet. Drain.
• Prepare enchilada sauce according to package directions. Pour 1/4 cup of sauce in a 9" x 13" pan.
• Divide the meat and cheese evenly amongst the flour tortillas. Roll tortillas tightly and place seam-side down in baking dish.
• Pour remaining sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake 20 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings (i.e., lettuce, cilantro, olives, sour cream, etc.)

Chicken & Pepper Fajitas

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 or 2 jalapeño peppers, sliced
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in thin strips
• 2 TBS lime juice
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 8 flour tortillas, warmed

Instructions:

• In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onion, bell peppers, and jalapeño peppers about 12 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Heat more olive oil in the same skillet and add chicken. Sauté chicken until cooked through. Return pepper mixture to pan and add lime juice, chili powder, and cumin. Cook a minute or two until heated through.
• Serve in tortillas. Garnish to taste with cheddar cheese, cilantro, lettuce, and sour cream.

String Pie

Ingredients:

• 8 oz spaghetti noodles
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 TBS butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 24 oz spaghetti sauce
• 1 lb ground beef, cooked
• mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9"x13" pan.
• Cook noodles according to package instructions.
• Combine Parmesan cheese, butter, and eggs. Stir into the cooked and drained noodles. Spread in the bottom of the pan.
• Layer cottage cheese, spaghetti sauce, and ground beef on top of the noodles.
• Bake about 50 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella on top and continue baking for 10-15 minutes.

Tuscan Chicken Simmer

Ingredients:

• 4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)
• 4 oz cream cheese, cubed
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded Italian five-cheese blend or mozzarella cheese
• 4 servings of penne or fettuccine pasta

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to package instructions.
• Cut chicken into bite-sized strips. Saute in olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Add cream cheese, water, pesto and tomatoes to skillet. Cook on medium heat about 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and serve over pasta.

Crock Pot Italian Shredded Beef

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp onion salt
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 .7-oz package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
• Sliced onions
• 1 5-lb rump roast (venison roast works great, too!)

Instructions:

• In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except onions and roast. Stir well and bring to a boil.
• Place roast in crock pot and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat. Add onions.
• Cover and cook on Low for 10-12 hours, or on High for 4-5 hours.
• When done, remove bay leaf and shred the meat with a fork.
• Serve on French bread.

5-Minute Artisan Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups hot water
• 1 1/2 TBS instant dry yeast
• 1 1/2 TBS Kosher salt
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached flour

Instructions to make dough:

• Mix all ingredients in a 5 qt. ice cream bucket until moistened (3-5 minutes). Let it rest on the counter loosely covered for at least 2 hours while getting a good rise.
• After 2 hours, place bucket of dough in the refrigerator. If using a glass container do not seal tightly, otherwise it is okay to do so after 48 hours.
• You may use the dough immediately or anytime after the 2 hour rise.

Instructions to make French bread:

• Lightly grease a cookie sheet where the dough will be (if the cookie sheet has sides, use the underside).
• Reach in to the bucket of dough and grab desired amount of dough. If necessary, lightly dust with flour to 'cloak' the dough (not to knead in but to make it more manageable); though I have never found that necessary. Shape the dough as desired and place on greased cookie sheet. Do not knead the dough or handle it a lot.

• After 20 minutes, preheat oven to 450° with a baking stone in the oven and a broiler pan on a rack beneath. Set timer for another 20 minutes.
• When timer goes off, gently score the top of the bread a few times with a bread knife. Next, place the cookie sheet on top of the stone in the oven and pour one cup water into the broiler pan. Bake for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes of baking, you can slide the bread off of the cookie sheet onto the stone for the remainder of the time.
• Cool completely on a rack before cutting (if you can wait!). Store cut-side down on a wooden cutting board or in a paper sack (plastic will make the crust soft).

Instructions for pizza crust:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Sprinkle pizza stone liberally with cornmeal. Reach into bucket and grab out the desired amount of dough. Place on stone and spread out to shape. Top as desired. Just for fun, we've been substituting Italian diced tomatoes (drained) for the pizza sauce! Very yummy!
• Bake for about 15 minutes.

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup + 2 TBS Kraft Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette dressing
• 4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 tomato, finely shopped
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil leaves

Instructions:

• Place chicken breasts in resealable plastic bag with 1/4 cup of dressing for 10 minutes-1 hour to marinate in the refrigerator.
• Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade.  
• In a bowl, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil, and 2 TBS of dressing.
• Place a large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of the grill grate.  Preheat grill to medium heat.
• Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill about 6 minutes.  Turn chicken over; place cooked-side up on foil on grill.  Top evenly with tomato mixture.  Close lid.  Grill an additional 8 minutes.

*Serve with buttered egg noodles.

Stuffed Fiesta Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 pkg taco seasoning mix
• 1/4 cup chive & onion cream cheese spread
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 hamburger buns, split, and lightly toasted
• Salsa
• Sliced avocado

Instructions:

• Mix meat and seasoning mix.  Shape into 8 thin patties.
• Mix cream cheese spread and shredded cheese.  Spoon about 2 TBS of the cheese mixture onto the center of each of 4 patties; top with second patty.  Pinch edges of patties together to seal.
• Grill patties 7-9 minutes per side over medium heat.
• Serve with toasted hamburger buns, salsa, and avocado.

Tuscan Garlic Chicken (Olive Garden's Recipe)

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 TBS salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp Italian herb seasoning
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 1 red pepper, julienne cut
• 1/2 cups white wine (can substitute white grape juice)
• 1/2 pound whole leaf spinach, stemmed
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

• To prepare the chicken:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine the flour, salt, black pepper, and Italian herb seasoning in a shallow dish.  Dredge the chicken in the mixture, shaking off any excess.
• Saute the chicken in a large, non-stick oven-proof skillet with enough oil to coat the pan over medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp.
• When finished, transfer the oven-proof skillet to the oven.  Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through.
• To prepare the pasta:
• Cook according to package directions.  Drain and set aside until needed.
• To prepare the sauce:
• While the pasta is cooking, heat some oil in a saute pan.  Add the garlic and the red pepper and cook for approximately 1 minute.  Slowly add a tablespoon of flour and stir to combine.  Add the white wine and bring to a boil for about 1 minute.  Add the spinach and the cream and bring mixture to a boil.  The sauce is done cooking when the spinach appears wilted.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
• To finish the entree:
• Parly coat the pasta with the sauce and transfer to a large bowl.  Cut up the chicken and put it on top of the pasta.  Cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Taco Shells

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 egg

Instructions:

• Heat skillet to medium-high heat.
  
• It's just like making pancakes! Pour about 1/4 cup batter on skillet. Turn skillet to spread batter to about 6" diameter; shell will be thin. Watch the edges to harden and bubble. Flip taco shell over and cook the other side. Continue until all the batter is used.
• Serve with your favorite taco fillings.
  

Julia's Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, cut up
• 3 potatoes, cut up
• 2 lbs beef chuck or stew meat, cut in 1 1/2" cubes
• 1 cup water or beef stock
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 onions, quartered
• 1 stalk celery with tops, cut up

Instructions:

• Combine all ingredients in order listed in the crock pot, stirring just enough to mix the spices.
• Place lid on crock pot and set on Low for 10-12 hours, or on High 4-5 hours. Do not remove lid until at least the minimum cook time has expired!
  

Southwestern Stroganoff

***This is one of Jordan's favorites...and I love it because it's so easy!!!
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 cups wide egg noodles
• 1 cup water
• 1 16-oz jar salsa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions:

• In a saucepan, brown the ground beef. Drain.
• Add egg noodles, water, salsa, and salt to the beef in the saucepan. Bring to a rapid boil. Turn heat down and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in sour cream.
• Serve!

Yield: about 6 servings
*I usually make a half-recipe of this for Jordan and I.
**This recipe is great paired with Garlic and Cheese Biscuits!

Green Chili Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 2 TBS chopped green chiles
• 6 flour tortillas for soft tacos and fajitas
• 1 10 oz. can Old El Paso green chile enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease square baking dish.
• Saute chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat, sprinkle with your favorite seasoning, and stir occasionally, until no longer pink in center.
• Add cream cheese and chiles; reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until blended and cream cheese is melted.
• Spoon chicken filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam-side down in baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake 15-20 minutes. Serve garnished with sour cream and cilantro.

Creamy Bow-Tie Pasta with Chicken & Broccoli

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bow-tie pasta, uncooked
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 4 TBS Italian dressing
• 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• Italian seasoning and black pepper
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups tomato-basil spaghetti sauce
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

• Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the cooking water for the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking time.
• Meanwhile, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, and sprinkle with pepper and seasoning. Turn all pieces over and repeat on the other side. Allow to cook about 5 minutes. Add garlic to the skillet and cook about 3 more minutes.
• Add pasta sauce and cream cheese to chicken in skillet. Cook on medium-low heat 2-3 minutes or until cream cheese is completely melted. Mixture should be well-blended and the chicken coated with sauce.
• Drain pasta and broccoli. Return to pot and add chicken mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

*Serving suggestion: Butter ciabata bread and sprinkle with garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, paprika, and parsley. Broil on high until bread begins to brown.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Penne

Ingredients:

• 6 servings penne
• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
• 3 TBS flour
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 cup milk
• 6 TBS butter
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 6 TBS flour
• 2 tsp. garlic
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups half-n-half
• Mozzerella cheese

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to package instructions
• Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and parmesan in a bowl. Dip the chicken strips into the breadcrumb mixture, then into the milk, and then back into the breadcrumb mixture. Saute the strips in olive oil.
• Melt butter in a saucepan; add olive oil. Whisk in flour. Add garlic, water, and salt until blended. Mix in sour cream and half-n-half until smooth.
• Toss the pasta with the white sauce. Top with chicken and mozzerella cheese.