Spinach Manacotti

This was so yummy!  Ellie even ate it.  She has never eaten anything with spinach in it before.

1	box (8 oz) uncooked manicotti shells (14 shells)
1.5	cups shredded Italian cheese blend (6 oz)
1/4	teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1	container (15 oz) reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1	box (10 oz) Cascadian Farm® frozen organic cut spinach, thawed, drained, squeezed dry
2	cloves garlic, finely chopped
1	egg, slightly beaten
1	jar (25.5 oz)  pasta sauce (any flavor)

	Heat oven to 375°F. Cook manicotti as directed on box. Rinse with cool water; drain well. In medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of the Italian cheese blend, the pepper flakes, ricotta cheese, spinach, garlic and egg.
	In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup of the pasta sauce. Spoon ricotta mixture into manicotti; place over sauce in dish. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Cover tightly with foil.
	Bake about 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling. Uncover dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Italian cheese blend. Bake uncovered 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Garlic Potatoes and Ham

8 small red potatoes, cut into wedges
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, partially thawed
1 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1 (1 ounce) package herb and garlic soup mix*

In a large skillet, cook potatoes in oil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in broccoli, ham and dry soup mix. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

* we used dry onion soup mix ( I guess making it onion potatos and ham)when making this because that is what we had at home. It still tasted good, but it might be nice to try the one recomended: Lipton Savory Herb with Garlic.

Recipe courtesy of: Melody Williamson on allrecipes.com

Golden Meatballs

1 pkg stove top stuffing
1 lb hamburger
1 egg
1 can golden mushroom soup (or reg.)


Mix soup with 3/4 can of water and set aside. Prepare stuffing as instructed on box and let cool a bit. Then mix hamburger, egg, stuffing and 1/2 of the soup mix together. Form into 2 in. meatballs and place in a greased baking dish. Pour remaining soup over the meatballs and bake @ 350 for 1 hour. Makes lots! so if you have less than a pound of hamburger don't use as much soup in the meatball mixture.

Maple-Bacon Oven pancake

Breakfast is dinner for us a lot of the time.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 c packaged biscuit mix (bisquick or jiffy whatever)
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
3/4 c milk
1/4 c maple syrup
5 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled

(This is my personal addition if you want to descretely add a veggie, you can add 1/4 or 1/2 c pureed carrot to the mix, really you can't taste the difference)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Grease 13x9 in pan. In bowl mix biscuit mix, half of the cheese, the eggs, milk, and syrup,(& pureed veg if desired) beat until nearly smooth. Spread in pan.

bake in oven for 10-12 mins. or until toothpick in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remainin cheese and bacon, bake for 3 more mins. cut into squares and serve with or without additional maple syrup.

Does the picture help??

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

I am big fan of meatloaf but I have a hard time making it very often because the average meatloaf has about 23.5 grams of fat per serving.  We just tried this recipe and it is fantastic!  It is is about half the fat of normal meatloaf.  Quinoa is a little hard to find.  You can get it at Costco or any store like Whole Foods. I also only used a pound of ground turkey.  It is easier to find that a 20 ounce package.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup quinoa 1/2 cup water 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 1 large clove garlic, chopped 1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce Directions: 1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. 2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool. 4. Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet. Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf. 5. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon water

Apricot Chicken

1 jar apricot jam
1 package dry onion soup
8 oz bottle of Russian dressing
4 chicken breasts

Mix apricot jam, dry onion soup and Russian dressing. Pour over Chicken. Bake 350 degrees for 45 min uncovered.YUM YUM!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate chip cookies

1 c canned pumpkin
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 egg
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve baking soda in milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
Add vanilla, chocolate chips, and nuts
Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm