Easy Lunch!

I got home from work today and had to figure out what to make for lunch. It's been that way all week, unfortunately. One day my daughter bought chinese, so that was easy. Today I remembered we had leftover mozzarella, pepperoni and pita pockets. That was a combination made in heaven and that's what we had. Just in case you need directions, I'll post them for ya.

Pita pizza's

6 whole wheat pitas
1 C spaghetti sauce (or less, depending on how much you like)
pkg of sliced pepperoni
grated mozzarella cheese
pineapple tidbits (optional)

My pita's were frozen, so I defrosted them in the microwave before putting them on the cookie sheet. Then I turned on my oven broiler to high. I slathered the sauce on the pitas and then divided out about 6 to 7 pepperoni per pita. Then I grated the cheese over the top. Not really heavy, but nice. Then I added pineappe, we are fruit bats in my house.
You slip it into the oven and let the cheese melt and get a little bubbly, perhaps even a little gold around the edges, and then pull it out. It's quick, easy and too fatning either!
Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

One of the simplest, perhaps, dishes that I like to make, is Chicken Enchiladas. The first time I had them, I'd just given birth and a neighbor brought them over for dinner. They were heavenly -- something I hadn't even tried making before. I immediately set about finding a recipe for them, and they are one of my families favorites. I still don't make them very often, because I have to make two full pans of them to make everyone happy...lol and that's a lot of work.

But yesterday, I decided I wanted them for lunch, so I whipped up a couple for my daughter and I to enjoy. Hopefully you'll like them too!


Chicken Enchiladas

12 Whole Wheat Tortillas softened
2 large or 4 small chicken breasts, fried, grilled, broiled, whatever and then sliced and chopped.
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper chopped (two if they're small)
1 -2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 container sour cream (I use low fat)
2 C grated cheese -- generally a mix of cheddar and montery jack
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
1 can chopped or sliced olives
1 can chopped or diced tomatoes (optional)
black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Mix chicken, onion, green pepper, mushrooms, 1/2soup and 1/2sour cream together in a bowl, sprinkle with pepper to taste. Fill tortillas, sprinkle with cheese, roll them up and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish that's been sprayed with pan spray. You might need two pans. In the same bowl you mixed all the ingredients in, mix the remaining sour cream and soup, pour this over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 20 min, or until cheese is melted and edges are crispy.

If you like the taste of tomatoes, I would add the 1/2 the diced tomatoes to the filling and the other half to the top with the olives after it comes out of the oven.

Serve with Salad and you have an excellent meal.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Brownies

My daughter brought home a huge zucchini the other day, and we figured we'd better put it to good use...so this is the recipe I adapted from one I got off the internet. It turned out WAY yummy - enjoy!

Zucchini Brownies
2 C zucchini, shredded (then run through the processor till fine)
1 C Sugar
1/2 C sugar free applesauce (my addition-cuts down on the sugar)
1/2 C oil
2 ripe bananas mashed (my addition-cuts down on the oil)
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/3 C cocoa
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt (I didn't add)
1/2 C walnuts, chopped (optional- I didn't put them in because my daughter won't eat them, but it would have been very good with them)
1 pkg Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (optional)

Combine zucchini, sugar, applesauce, oil and bananas. Add dry ingredients (sifted together if you'd like) and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour into greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 min.

The recipe called for frosting, but we didn't think it needed any -- it was very rich and chocolaty. Kind of more a cake than brownie.

Glorious Tomatoes!

I never thought that I'd think tomatoes were cool. lol. But, we grew lots of them this year, and I especially like the yellow ones! Who would have known? I didn't know before this year that there were such things! Yellow tomatoes? They are gorgeous, and their flavor is so much milder...ahhh.

Anyway, I've actually made two things I've never made this summer -- Salsa and homemade marinara sauce. I think the salsa turned out too hot, but we haven't tried it yet; and the marinara tastes okay, but it's kind of chunky and I didn't get all the seeds out...live and learn! Well, my sister-in-law had Roma tomatoes, which apparently are THE best tomatoes to make tomato sauce, so I'm going to be doing that today with the rest of my red tomatoes. The freeze got the plants we couldn't get pulled up and we have tons of green tomatoes that I'm hoping will turn red within the next month or so...

But for today, I wanted to share a recipe I got from a farmer's market in August. I was hoping for more than it was, but perhaps next year I'll know better. This recipe is the best though...and be sure to use fresh cilantro if you have it -- it's amazing the difference it makes.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa
(U of U Extension)

1 15oz can Black beans (I use low sodium) rinsed and drained
1 11oz can whole kernel corn (I used frozen)
1 tsp minced fresh jalapeno pepper (no seeds)
1 Avocado, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper (I used green ones from our garden)
1/3 C chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 C diced red onion (I used a sweet one)
1/4 C fresh lime juice (about 2 limes -- I used the reconstituted stuff)
1 tsp salt (I never put salt in...lol)

Italian dressing (dry packet made into dressing- I didn't use the Italian seasoning, I didn't have any. I just mixed some olive oil into the mixture)
Tortilla Chips

Combine all ingredients except avocado and chips. Add Italian dressing to ingredients. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. (drain excess dressing off before adding avocados) Add avocado just before serving.

The batch I made filled a large salad bowl. I'm not sure how much this makes, but it looked like quite a bit. My whole family loved it with chips. Enjoy!!

Lasagna

Well, I figured my next recipe should be the one my kids like the most...Lasagna. I do it just a little different, and they say it's way better than anything else they've eaten, so I guess they like it...grin. You can cook the noodles ahead of time, I guess it saves about a half hour baking -- but I like to simplify and just bake it longer.

Meat Lasagna
(makes 2 13x9 pans)

2 pkgs lasagna noodles
3 Large cans Spaghetti sauce (any flavor)
1 - 2 lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
1 large tub low fat or fat free cottage cheese
1 large tub Riccota low fat cheese
1 bag (2 lb) mozzarella cheese (I prefer pre-grated...saves on time)
3 eggs
parsley to season

Prehead oven to 350.
Mix meat and sauce together (I usually do this in the pan I've cooked the meat in). In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, half the mozzarella cheese and ricotta cheese. Add eggs, stir in well. Add Parsley.
Spray 13x9 pans and then pour a layer of sauce over the bottom of each pan. (I usually make one pan at a time, but it depends on what you like to do.) Layer lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread a layer of cheese mixture over the noodles. Add another layer of noodles, and continue alternating between sauce and cheese. I like lots of layers, and so do my kids.
You should end with the sauce on top -- but I've mixed the leftover cheese into it too. Sprinkle cheese on top, as thick as you want, and then cover with aluminum foil. Put in middle of oven and bake for 1 hour. Take the foil off and let cheese brown a little on top -- about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes before serving. Will really be hot!! Very yummy! We usually have a big green salad and sometimes breadsticks with this. (we make so much so we have leftovers for hubbies lunches)

Family Favorites

Another favorite we like in the summer is Hawaiian Haystacks or sometimes known as Hawaiian Sundaes.

These are easy to whip up, (especially if you use instant or quick rice) and a fun way to eat a mix of items.

Hawaiian Sundaes
Serves 8 (two servings each)

3 boxes of 5 minute brown rice (we use generic brands...) cooked
4-5 C gravy -- chicken is the one we usually use, but brown works too..with chunks of meat in it (chicken chunks or beef) you can also use cream of chicken soup
2 C grated cheddar cheese
1 sweet onion chopped (or 3 green onion)
3 celery stalks chopped
2 C veggies...mixed variety or whatever you prefer
1 can pineapple tidbits or slices made into tidbits (drained)
2 tomatoes, chopped
chow main noodles (optional)
Almond slivers (optional)

The rice is layered on the plate first, then the gravy. We usually put the cheese on next so it can melt, and then layer the rest to taste. It's a great left over meal too...

Fondue!

Well...last night I was in the mood for something different, so we did fondue. Since we don't use wine..lol, we used broth, and it turned out pretty good. Good enough that I thought I'd post it for future use. We love to do fondue, but it's hard when you have 8 people dipping in the same pot...and they're all siblings. grin. There are lots of different pots...we have one that uses the little flame, but we use the electric one the most. It's bigger...
Enjoy!

cheese fondue