Raspberry Lemon Trifle

Thank you Erin for showing me this recipe. It has become my go to dessert for well, everything. It is so incredibly easy and I love.love.love lemon anything. I often find myself with a spoon and the trifle dish after everyone has left...

This is one recipe that I didn't tweak at all, which is rare for me. And, also, even
though I've made it at least five times I don't seem to have a photo! But, you can see a luscious one here along with the original recipe.

And, just in case that link ever disappears here is the recipe again. I'm telling you people, this is divine. The moment you taste it you'll regret all the years you didn't know about it so don't delay.

You MUST stand over the curd while it cooks and whisk, whisk, whisk. You don't want to end up with scrambled eggs and make sure you use a pot that is big enough so the bottom doesn't cook before the rest. You can also use a double boiler, but I never do.

Syrup

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water

Curd

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Fruit and topping

• 4 1/2-pint baskets fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

1 16-ounce frozen pound cake, thawed
2 cups chilled whipping cream

For syrup:
Combine sugar, lemon juice, and water in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 minute. Cover and chill.

For curd:
Whisk eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Add butter and lemon peel. Stir over medium heat until curd thickens to pudding consistency, about 10 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface of curd. Chill until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be made 3 days ahead.)

For fruit and topping:
Combine 2 baskets raspberries and 1/4 cup sugar in bowl. Mash berries coarsely with fork. Let stand until juices form, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Cut cake crosswise into 8 pieces. Cut each piece into 3 strips. Line bottom of 3-quart trifle bowl with 8 cake strips, trimming to fit. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons syrup; spread with 2/3 cup curd, then half of mashed berries. Repeat layering. Top with remaining cake, syrup, and curd. Cover; chill overnight.

Beat cream and 3 tablespoons sugar in bowl until peaks form; spread over trifle. Mound remaining berries in center.

Best Roast Chicken

Have you ever tried Alton Browns turkey recipe? If you haven't, you simply must. It's better than any turkey ever. Do you hear me? e.v.e.r.

And, you can take the same recipe and apply it to a chicken - with a few minor tweaks.





So, here is the famous Alton Brown recipe.

Read it, save it, make it. You won't regret it.

The secret is in the brine.

So, here are the ingredients. Although, I like to change up the aromatics and the seasonings I put in the bring. The main points you need are the salt, sugar and stock in the brine. Whatever else you add to it is up to you and the flavor you want. I keep the brine simple for the chicken, it doesn't need much.

For the brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

For the aromatics:

• 3 lemons, cut in half.
• 1 bunch of rosemary.
• 1 cup water
• Canola oil

First, thaw the chicken in the fridge.

Combine the brine ingredients in a stock pot. Bring to a boil and then allow to cool in the fridge.

I have a small cooler that I place my chicken in, and then cover with the brine mixture. The cooler fits in my fridge (it's like one of those little Ocsar type ones) This is why I don't have a need for the ice water from Alton's recipe - I let my mixture completely chill in the fridge and I don't have a need for extra liquid.

So, place the chicken in the cooler first (don't forget to remove the gizzards & neck first) and then pour the brine over it.

Let that sit for 6-8 hours. It doesn't need to go any longer or you'll have a salty bird. You can probably get away with 4.

Take the chicken out of the brine, rinse it off and pat it dry. Place on a roasting rack. Make a shield out of foil for the breast section and set aside (see the how to video here)

Stuff with aromatics.

Tuck wings under and coat the bird with canola oil.

Stick an oven safe thermometer in the thickest part of the bird.

Roast at 475 for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and cover the breast of the chicken with foil breast plate you made earlier.

Reduce the oven to 375 and roast until the thermometer reaches 170 degrees at the thickest part of the meat.

As a general rule it takes about 20 minutes per pound but it really is best to use a meat thermometer. Once you take the chicken out of the oven the temperature will continue to rise to closer to 180 and the juices will settle.

I know it seems like a lot of work for a chicken, but trust me it is SOOOO worth the effort.  A few hours work on this and you'll be able to transform it into a few meals, like this or this or maybe it's a little chilly and you need this.  Or, Monday night when you're beat and it's bath night and you have 5 minutes to prepare dinner, you could make this or this or this.   Happy cooking!

Perfectly Easy Lemon Cake

I have a reputation at work for making birthday cakes but sometimes find myself in a pinch on a week night. This particular co-worker loves lemon (which, if you know me, makes me very happy) so I came up with this cake on the fly and let me tell you, it's delicious!

What you'll need:

1 box of vanilla cake mix. Or, you can use lemon if you feel like a lemon cake needs to start with lemon.

The shavings of one large lemon.

Lemon simple syrup: 2/3 cup lemon juice mixed with 2/3 cup sugar.

Icing of your choice (I use store bought vanilla x 2)

Yellow food coloring.


Lemon curd (you'll need to make this a minimum of 4 hours in advance) thankfully I had some in my fridge already:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Directions:

Lemon Curd

Whisk eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Add butter and lemon peel. Stir over medium heat until curd thickens to pudding consistency, about 10 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface of curd. Chill until cold, at least 4 hours.

Cake
Mix the boxed cake mix as directed, stir in the lemon peel. Bake in 2 round cake pans following the directions on the box for size.

After the cake has cooled poke holes in each layer with a toothpick and then drizzle 3/4 of the lemon simple syrup over each layer, reserving 1/4 for later.

For the icing - I use 2 containers of vanilla frosting, mix in the remaining lemon simple syrup and add a touch of yellow food coloring to get a nice lemony color. You'll probably have extra frosting at the end, but it's always better than not enough. You can thicken it up by adding powdered sugar or put it in the fridge for a while if it becomes too runny, but I like it a little thin to make spreading easier.

Layer lemon curd on the bottom tier and then top it when the second tier. Then frost the cake with 1 thin layer of icing. At this point I put the cake in the freezer for about an hour to set.

Ice the cake with one more layer and you're done! Top with raspberries, blueberries or strawberries for an additional touch.

Easter Brunch

Easter is my holiday. I host it every year for the in-laws because it's the only holiday my family doesn't really celebrate and I really can't fit my side AND the in-laws in my house, there just isn't enough room. So, what does a Mom of a toddler and a newborn make for 10+ people you might ask? Easy items that can be prepped ahead of time.

Baked Ham - as in, pre cooked. You could get one from the honey baked ham store or just a regular one with a glaze from the grocery store.

Maple Bacon Breakfast rolls. These lovely things appeared in my in-box the other day and I had to make them. I cooked the bacon in the oven ahead of time, you could buy pre-cooked but it's expensive for what you get.

Fried Green Tomatoes - Yes, like the movie. They are SO good. Slice tomatoes about 1/2 inch thick or so and salt liberally (this step is very important). Season with pepper. Put them in a bowl with about 4 tablespoons buttermilk (regular milk will work though). Then, dredge through flour. Then in some beat eggs and then through breadcrumbs. Fry in peanut oil. Vegetable oil will work but I prefer peanut oil. Voila. Soooo good. There are sauces and chutneys you can make to serve them with but I just like them as is.

Lemon Trifle - You can make this with any berry you want. I suggest doubling the lemon curd recipe and if you still don't feel you have enough you can always fold in some whipping cream or vanilla pudding.

Champagne Limoncello Cocktails

And, the in-laws are also bringing

Fruit Salad
Hash brown casserole
Another vegetable.

I may also add some roasted asparagus because it's easy :) The only thing I'll have to do the day of is warm the ham up a bit, toss the rolls in the oven and fry the tomatoes.

Restaurant French Toast

This french toast is just as good as it is at your favorite breakfast joint. MMMMMMMM

• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 slices Texas toast thick bread (I really like to use cinnamon bread)
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
• powdered sugar
• butter
• syrup

Mix first 7 ingredients in a shallow bowl or pan with a wire whisk until well blended.

Heat pan on medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon butter. If butter smokes your pan is too hot. Dip bread into egg mixture for about 30 seconds, coating both sides. Cook each side about 2 minutes.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve with butter and hot syrup.

Grilled Pizza

This is probably our favorite meal of the summer. BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza. And it is so incredibly easy to make.

You can either make your own dough or buy pre-made dough at the grocery store. Keep it in the refrigerator until just before you are ready to grill.

Get all your toppings together. I made BBQ Chicken Pizza so my toppings consisted of:

Grilled BBQ Chicken

Chopped Red Onions

Chopped Roasted Red Peppers

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce

Turn the grill on medium low and let it heat up for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Roll the dough out and cut it into sizes you can flip and move around easily with a spatula. You don't have to flip the dough, but I like mine grilled on both sides. Brush olive oil on both sides of the dough, and on the grill.

If you have never grilled pizza before I suggest testing a small amount of dough first, it cooks VERY fast and I burned my first batch.

Set the dough on the grill and check it often. When you see grill marks and the dough starts to rise a bit, flip it over. Then, put your toppings on as quick as you can. Close the lid and wait about 3-5 minutes. At this point, I usually turn the grill off and shut the lid again if the cheese hasn't melted.

It takes a bit of attention, but it is so so worth it!

Steak Marinade

A quote from my husband after eating a cheap steak I put in this marinade before grilling "You can put the A-1 away".

It is that good, and surprisingly simple too.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

Mix and pour into a bag with steaks. Marinade 12 to 24 hours. Bring steaks to room temperature before grilling and then cook as you normally would.

Put the steak sauce away.

Enjoy!

P.S. My picky 2 year old enjoyed this as well. In fact, after tasting it he put his milk down and finished his steak before taking another drink. If you knew my milk hog you'd know that was HUGE.

Pumpkin Bread

I know it's not really the right season for pumpkin bread but I always have it in my house and use it quite frequently in things like grilled cheese and quesadillas to sneak a veggie in my son. I had an open can in my fridge I needed to use up as well as some pureed squash and sweet potato so I decided to make bread. I found 2 or 3 recipes online that looked good and merged and modified to make my own recipe.

• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup pureed sweet potato or pureed squash. You can just put in another 1/2 cup oil instead, or more pumpkin. Or, even applesauce will work.
  
• 4 eggs
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Heat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, water, vegetable oil, sweet potato puree and eggs. Beat until well mixed. Measure the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves into a separate bowl and stir until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, beating until smooth. Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans and dust with flour. Evenly divide the batter between the two pans. Or you can make muffins. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. For muffins, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pans by inverting onto a rack and tapping the bottoms. Slice and serve plain, buttered, or with cream cheese.

My Absolute Favorite Recipes

I was reading back through my blog, looking for a recipe and ran across a few that I haven't made in so long and remembered how much I love them. So, I thought I'd do a post of my family favorites. I know blogs can be overwhelming and if you are like me, you browse through looking for something that catches your eye but often don't get past a page or two. I don't post anything on my blog that I won't eat again. I don't post recipes just to post them or just because I tried them. You can be assured that, in my opinion, all of the recipes on my blog are good. But, here are a few of our favorites:

For weeknight meals, these are my favorites:

Everyone I know raves about Bourbon Chicken but, I personally like Japanese Mum's Chicken better and so does my husband.

My husband is NOT a salad person, but he requests my Chicken Caesar Salad quite frequently.

If you are having company, you can't go wrong making Chicken Florentine. Seriously, I haven't met anyone that doesn't like it. Serve with a salad and some crusty bread... and maybe a good wine.

And, who doesn't love Fajitas?

If you are looking for super quick and easy, you can't go wrong with Stromboli, chicken parmigiana hero's, or calzones (make them quick by using refrigerated pizza crust instead)

For a "fancy" meal, try the tofu and cheese stuffed shells. Trust me, no one will know you used tofu. I have a total meat and potato husband and he had no clue. It sounds healthy, but it isn't. That's why it's good.

For breakfast, you must make french toast strata

And, if you've never made homemade bread try the Cuban bread - so easy and yummy.

And, for dessert everyone needs a great brownie recipe. Serve with ice cream and hot fudge sauce, of course.

Wilted Lettuce

Someday I want to have this blog made into a recipe book for my son, for our grandkids and such. I think it would be a really really neat gift. So, I'm going to start including some of our "secret" family recipes. The first is my Great-Grandmothers recipe for wilted lettuce. My Dad RAVES about this. It is pretty darn good and since it's a "salad" you can pretend it's healthy.

4 cups shredded lettuce
6 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup water
salt
1 small onion, minced
1/4 cup vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
pepper

Brown bacon in frying-pan. Remove bacon. Combine with lettuce and onion. Combine venegar, water and bacon fat. Heat to boiling. Add seasonings and sugar. Combine with lettuce mixture. Serve at once. You can also add a hard boiled egg (or two).

Grilled-Salmon Salad

This is a wonderful, light and flavorful recipe. I don't get a chance to make fish often, because my husband hates it, but I started a lunch group at work and each week we prepare a new meal and each of us brings a few of the ingredients in. It's a way to have a nice, healthy gourmet meal at the office without the $$$ and work that goes into it. Plus, it's fun! The Pasta Fagioli was courtesy of our lunch group as well.

Yummy Grilled-Salmon Salad with pine nuts, goat cheese and Tomato Vinaigrette

You can prepare the dressing up to three hours in advance.

• 1 cup diced firm-ripe tomatoes (about 8 oz.)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, vinegar, oil, shallot, mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix well. I actually doubled this recipe because I prefer more dressing on my salad.

Then, prepare the salmon and the salad:

• 1 1/2 pounds boned, skinned salmon fillet, cut into 4 equal pieces
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• About 1 teaspoon salt
• About 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 ounces salad mix, rinsed and crisped

Garnishes

• 4 ounces fresh chèvre (goat) cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup minced green onions (white and pale green parts only)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts

1. Rinse salmon and pat dry. In a bowl, mix brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place salmon in bowl and rub pieces all over with spice mixture. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

2. Lay salmon on a barbecue grill over a solid bed of hot coals or high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook, turning once, until a thermometer inserted in center of thickest part reads 140°, 6 to 8 minutes total.

3. Meanwhile, divide salad mix equally among four plates. Place a piece of salmon on each mound of greens. Drizzle salads equally with tomato vinaigrette and sprinkle evenly with goat cheese, green onions, and pine nuts. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe is from MyRecipes.

Slow Cooker Corn and Spinach Enchilada's

This is a recipe adapted from Crockpot365.com

Filling
--1 can (14.5 oz) creamed corn
--1 cup shredded already-cooked chicken
--1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
--1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
--1 4oz can chopped mild green chiles
--1 tsp cumin
--1 chopped red onion
--2 cups shredded cheese (I used a packaged Mexican blend)
--corn tortillas

Topping
--1 can (28 oz) green enchilada sauce
--2/3 cup sour cream
--more shredded cheese

Garnishes
--sliced jalapenos
--more sour cream
--lettuce
--chopped tomatoes
--avacado
-- hot sauce

In a large mixing bowl make the filling, mixing everything but the corn tortillas.

Spray the crockpot with non stick spray and lay a layer of corn tortillas down. Spoon filling mixture in and complete another layer until all filling is used.

Mix the enchilada sauce and sourcream in a mixing bowl and pour over the top of your layers. Sprinkle with another handful or two of shredded cheese.

Cook on high for 2-4 hours or on low for 5-7. Let stand 20 minutes or so before serving. Serve with optional garnishes.

You can make this vegetarian by omitting the chicken and adding beans if you'd prefer.

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli - SOOOOOOO easy and yummy.

I got this from crockpot365.blogspot.com It is SOOO freaking good. Great with some crusty bread and salad and wonderful for a cold day.

--1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
--1/2 large red onion, chopped
--1 cup carrots, chopped
--2 celery stalks, sliced
--2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)
--1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
--1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
--4 cups beef broth (check label for gluten!)
--1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce
--2 tsp oregano
--1 T Tabasco sauce
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart or larger crock pot, or cut the recipe in half. This makes a lot.

Brown the meat on the stove top, and drain well. Let it cool a bit.

Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crock pot.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Tabasco sauce. Stir in your meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.

Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.

Serve with a bit of Parmesan cheese if you have it.

Cranberry Sauce

We had an early Thanksgiving at the in-laws yesterday and my mother-in-law made the BEST cranberry sauce ever. If you still serve yours out of the can, cutting along the indentations, you need to stop. Just stop. Collaborate and Listen. Just kidding. But seriously, please don't plop the canned stuff out onto your Thanksgiving table next to the perfectly cooked Turkey and yummy walnut topped sweet potatoes. Just don't do it. They are SO easy to do.

2 cups orange juice
2 cups sugar
2 bags of cranberries (I believe they are 12 ounces)

Wash and rinse the cranberries. Combine the sugar and orange juice in a pot until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cranberries and cook over medium heat until the cranberries pop. My mother-in-law brings hers to a boil and then removes from the heat. Pour into your serving dish and allow to cool in the refrigerator. They will set as they cool.

I'll post my weekly meal plan later this evening.

Calzones

These will be making an appearance again in our house, that's for sure. My husband actually ASKED for the leftovers. Unheard of. Adapted from this recipe. You can make this a quick meal by using refridgerated pizza dough, just roll it out and cut it into rectangles and fill from there.

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• 1 cup diced turkey pepperoni
• 1 cup chopped spinach
  
• 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
• 1 egg, beaten

1. To Make Dough: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water for 10 minutes. Add the oil, sugar and salt; mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour, until dough is smooth and workable. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, or until it is elastic. Lay dough in a bowl containing 1 teaspoon olive oil, then flip the dough, cover and let rise for 40 minutes, or until almost doubled.
2. To Make Filling: While dough is rising, combine the ricotta cheese, mozarella cheese, pepperoni, spinach and basil leaves in a large bowl. Mix well, cover bowl and refrigerate to chill.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. When dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into 8 equal parts (they will still be quite a bit larger than a hot pocket at this size). Roll parts out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface. Fill each circle with 1/8 of the cheese/meat filling and fold over, securing edges by folding in and pressing with a fork. Brush the top of each calzone with egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

I served this with homemade marinara sauce, that I just made up on the fly. I wish I would have written down what I did, because it was really good! I can give you an idea though and you can make it to suit your tastes.

1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste (a larger can, not the tiny ones)
1 can of tomato sauce
a tablespoon or so of dried basil
a bit of sage - not sure why, just sounded good
a tablespoon or so of olive oil
a few cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 of an onion, chopped
a dash or so of sugar
a dash or two of salt

Yo Baby Yogurt Copycat recipe.

I included this recipe at the very bottom of my yogurt post but oh.sweet.baby. this is so good. It's yogurt. No, it's dessert, no.... it's heaven. Heaven on a spoon. The cream rises to the top, the fruit is on the bottom and it's pure bliss in the middle. And, it's good for you. And SO much less expensive than buying it.

My son eats Stonyfield Farms YoBaby yogurt, and lots of it. It's organic, it's lower in sugar that other kids yogurts, it's creamy, it's good and it's expensive. So, I decided to come up with a copy cat recipe and let me tell you, I'd eat this over YoBaby any day, and it seems so would Dillon! Yaaay!

3 1/2 cups organic whole milk
1/2 cup organic heavy cream
1/4 cup natural sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the above in a pot and heat, slowly, to 180 degrees on your stove (no hotter and don't allow to boil!).

Allow to cool to 110 degrees and stir in:

1/2 cup organic, unflavored room temperature yogurt (I use stonyfield farms, regular not yobaby since they don't sell yobaby individually.)

Pour into a preheated yogurt maker and allow to incubate at 110 degrees for about 6 hours.

Set out 8 five ounce (or whatever) containers with lids. Spoon in about a teaspoon of your favorite fruit puree.

Then, spoon in the yogurt put the lids on and put them in the refrigerator. You can do larger or smaller portion sizes. I made them about the same portion size as Yobaby is because I was making them for my son.

Once you refrigerate for a while the cream will rise to the top, just like Stonyfield farms does.

Even with the 1/4 cup of sugar this recipe has about 2 grams less sugar than Yobaby per 4 ounce serving. All other nutrients are just about identical. It makes about 8 four ounce servings and will keep for about a week.

Enjoy!

Two Bean Tamale Pie

This is Betty Crocker’s version with minor tweaking. My husband really likes this meal on cold days and that says a lot because he is a real meat and potato kinda guy. This is a very healthy AND hearty meal. It's also a REALLY cheap meal, I'd say it costs about $5 to make and serves 6 to 8 people! I usually throw in a can of corn to stretch it a bit farther as well. You can also add green chili and/or jalapeño if you like a bit more kick to it. We serve it with hot sauce, sour cream and salsa on the side.

1 TBSP olive oil
1 small onion - diced
1 med green pepper - diced
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 can (6oz) vegetable juice
1 15oz can pinto beans - drained, rinsed, slightly mashed
1 15oz can kidney beans - drained, rinsed, slightly mashed
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 box cornbread mix - mixed according to package directions
2oz grated cheddar
2 green onions - chopped
~ 2 tsp cilantro snipped (omit if you hate cilantro)

Preheat your oven to 425F. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add the diced onion. As the onion gets soft, add the diced bell pepper and minced garlic. Saute until the bell pepper is soft. Add the vegetable juice, beans, cumin, and chili powder. Remove from heat and spoon into a greased 2qt casserole dish.
Prepare cornbread mix according to directions, stirring in green onion, cilantro, and grated cheese. Spread evenly over the bean mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cornbread is done.

Yields six servings.

Great-Grandma's Quick Chocolate Mayonaise Cake

I acquired some recipes from my Grandmother a few weeks ago and recently gave this one a whirl. It is way too good and easy not to share. And, as a double bonus, if you happen to be pregnant there is no risk in eating this cake batter because there are no raw eggs! YUM.

2 cups sifted flour
1 cup sugar
4 T cocoa
1 1/2 tsp soda; 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C mayonnaise
1 C cold water
2 tsp vanilla.

Mix and stir just enough to mix well. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

If you want to add a bit more chocolate flavor, throw in a cup or so of mini chocolate chips :)

Tuna Casserole

This isn't your normal yucky tuna casserole, this is actually good. Try it.

3 cups cooked egg noodles
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1 teaspoon butter
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use reduced fat to save calories)
1/2 (10 1/2 ounce) can evaporated milk (can use regular milk, I use skim)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup frozen peas and carrot
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, one drained
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, divided (I use 1 1/2 cups reduced fat and the rest regular)
1/2 cup crushed potato chips or you can use saltines to save calories.

Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside.
In same pot, melt butter and sauté celery and onions until tender.
Combine all ingredients in large casserole, except for potato chips and 1/2 cup cheese.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Put cheese on top, then sprinkle top with potato chips.
Return to oven for a few minutes to melt cheese.
Eat with crusty bread. Yum.

Tofu and Cheese Stuffed Shells

1 (16 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 (12 ounce) container tofu
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 tablespoon prepared pesto
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 to 2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce, depending on how much sauce you like. You could also use Alfredo sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat combine carrot, zucchini, onion and spinach. Pour in just enough water to cover; cook until tender and spinach is thawed and drain.

In a large bowl, mash the tofu with a fork. Stir in carrot mixture, Monterey Jack cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, pesto, ricotta cheese, egg while, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Stuff each cooked pasta shell with about 1 rounded tablespoon of the filling. Place shells in an un greased 2-quart baking dish. Pour sauce over shells.

Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.

Please note... I labeled this as healthy because it is but it is FAR from low fat :)