Mark's favorite Sausage Gravy

My husband orders sausage gravy almost every time he eats breakfast at a restaurant.  I used to think that something like that would be too difficult to make correctly but I finally got up the nerve to try it.  And guess what?  This recipe is super easy!!  It has never failed me.  I usually double the recipe and then freeze part of it for later and it always heats up nicely.  If I have time, I will make biscuits, but I most often serve it over sourdough toast and my husband loves it just the same.

Ingredients:
1 pound bulk sausage
3 cups milk
1/3 cup flour
pepper to taste

Directions: Brown sausage in skillet.  Stir in flour til dissolved.  Add milk.  Cook until it begins to bubble, stirring regularly.  Reduce heat and allow to simmer, stirring until thickened, about 2 minutes.  Season with pepper as  desired.

Papa Eric's Waffles

The girls love Papa Eric's waffles more than any other so I finally remembered to ask him for the recipe.  I didn't try to make it healthier by soaking the batter because I was afraid I would ruin the recipe, but I did use half whole grain flour and half unbleached all purpose flour, and I also substituted my sucanat for white sugar and used half butter and half coconut oil for the oil.  (I tripled the recipe and didn't want to use up my stash of either oil at once.)  My girls agreed that they were the best waffles we had made and I freezed half of them for easy breakfasts on school mornings.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups milk
3 egg whites beaten stiff

Directions: Measure dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Blend.  Combine egg yolks and milk.  Stir into dry ingredients.  Stir in cooking oil. Carefully fold in egg whites.  Do not over-mix. Pour approximately 2/3 cup batter onto preheated grid.  Close and bake

Summer Bounty Sausage Casserole

I stumbled upon this recipe when looking for a yummy but different way to enjoy our home-grown tomatoes and zucchini.  I wan't sure if my husband would like it since casseroles aren't his favorite, but both times I made it recently he raved about all the different flavors inside.  He wanted me to make sure I kept the recipe for next summer!  Thanks, Carrie, for such a winner!  The only thing I did differently was to make my own cream sauce instead of canned mushroom soup.  And I can never put just one clove of garlic in... I probably used at least 5!

• 1 lb . Ground Italian Pork Sausage
• 2 c . Finely Diced Zucchini
• 4 c . Cooked Rice, (white brown or long grain)
• 1 c . Diced Fresh Tomatoes
• 1 Clove Garlic, minced
• 10 oz . Cream of Mushroom Soup or homemade cream sauce
• 1/2 c . Low Fat Chicken Broth
• 1 c . Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Start by preparing your rice. Depending on which kind you use this can take any where from 5-20 minutes. I used instant white rice so mine only took about 5 minutes.
3. While the rice is cooking, brown the sausage in a skillet on top of the stove until it is cooked through and no longer pink; then drain off any excess grease and place in a bowl.
4. Add the remaining ingredients minus the cheese to the bowl and mix well.
5. Place the mixture in an oven safe casserole dish, sprinkle with the cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Healthy Fudgesicles!

I just made these as a special snack for my girls' first day of pre-school (at home :) and oh, they are so good! My husband did mention that they taste more like dark chocolate than sweet chocolate but I didn't really notice it myself. My 4-year old thought they were the best treat ever and she normally wouldn't even touch an avocado! I actually used 1 1/2 avocados because I had some leftover in the fridge I wanted to use up. And I smashed it instead of quartering it to make certain it would blend well. I think I will actually use 2 next time to add in some more healthy fat to slow the sugar rush a bit. But I'm not too worried about it since it only uses honey for sweetener! Many thanks to Recipes to Nourish for posting such a great treat for my girls!

• 1 ripe avocado, remove pit, quarter
• 4 tablespoons raw organic cacao powder
• 2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
• ¼ cup raw honey (I use local raw clover creamed honey)
• 3 cups raw whole milk (See Resources)

1. Combine all ingredients in blender.

2. Blend on a lower setting until smooth and combined. No avocado pieces

should remain. Strain through fine mesh strainer if needed.

3. Pour mixture into popsicle molds.

4. Place in freezer for at least 6 hours.

5. When frozen, run under hot water to release the mold.

Yield: Makes about 4 cups mixture, finished popsicle yield varies.

Delicious Blueberry or Banana bread/muffins

Because my baby is due very soon (any day now!!!!), I have not been trying out new recipes. I've just been trying to stock my freezer with recipes that I know we will enjoy. However, I recently decided to splurge and buy some sprouted flour so that I wouldn't have to worry about the soaking step in my recipes (anything to make my life easier at this point!). Sprouted flour opened up a whole new collection of recipes to me and this recipe is the first one that I tried. So easy and delicious! I made a loaf of banana bread and one of blueberry bread and they both turned out great! I didn't even fool with the crumb topping since I wasn't sure if it would freeze well, but I'm sure that they would be even better if you included it! Thanks to Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking for such a great recipe!!

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry/soft spring wheat is the best!)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup rapadura or sucanat (natural sweeteners)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil, melted – or replace with half applesauce, as desired
• Blueberry Variation: Replace bananas with 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries and 3/4 cup applesauce. Yum!

Topping, optional:

• 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup rapadura, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full (Definitely fill all 12, otherwise they will overflow).
3. Optional: In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup rapadura, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins. I normally just sprinkle with cinnamon and a little rapadura.
   
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean

Healthy and Yummy Pumpkin Pancakes!

Oh, it is definitely that time of year again! You know, the time of year when any recipe containing the word pumpkin catches my eye :) Yes, I definitely have a pumpkin obsession! I've always LOVED pumpkin pancakes and there are tons of recipes out there, but I had not yet found one that meets my healthy standards (i.e. honey instead of sugar and soaking the flour to reduce the phytates and improve digestion.) So I was excited to randomly come across the Come Walk With Me blog, which discusses Nourishing Tradition-style food and recipes. Lisa's recipe for pumpkin pancakes is not only healthy, but delicious, and even my "not-so-obsessed-with-pumpkin" husband whole-heartedly approved :) She says they freeze well, also, but there weren't enough left today for me to find out :)

Squash (or Pumpkin) Pancakes
2 c. flour (I used spelt)
1 1/2 c. buttermilk ( I used keifer because it was what I had on hand; yogurt would work as well)
*12-24 hours beforehand, combine these two ingredients & cover

1 c. squash or pumpkin puree (I just used the whole can, probably 1 1/2 cups)
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/8 t. nutmeg
2 T. raw sugar, honey, or maple syrup
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
2 T. melted coconut oil

When you're ready to make the pancakes stir in all remaining ingredients to the soaked flour/buttermilk mixture. Lisa likes thin pancakes (not fluffy) so she added about 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. milk to greatly thin out this batter. I wanted them thick, so I didn't add any, and the batter didn't pour easily but still made great pancakes! Heat additional coconut oil in a skillet over medium low heat (you want these to cook all the way through) flipping when bubbles pop.

Stocking the freezer!

With 2 little ones and a husband whose work schedule changes randomly, I often end up without time to prepare a nice dinner for my family. We are on a strict budget and try to avoid eating out just because "there is nothing to eat in the house!" (We like to plan on eating out for special occasions instead :) So when I make my meal-plan each week, I try to make sure I plan one day (usually the day that Mark is off work so he can help watch the girls :) to go crazy cooking and double or triple a recipe or two for freezing. That way I always have something to pull out in a pinch. So I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite things to make in bulk and freeze.

(Note: I "flash freeze" the enchiladas and manicotti before cooking on a cookie sheet and then dump into freezer-safe ziplocks bags. You can also freeze them in a pan with the sauce, but it takes up more room and I find that they come out more soggy. I flash freeze the chicken strips, cordon blue, bierocks and meatballs the same way. Everything else just gets dumped in a tupperware :)


Lasagna
Taco Meat
the Best Sloppy Joes Ever
Mannicotti
Cheesy Chicken Strips
Chili
Taco soup
Enchiladas
Tortilla Soup
Meatballs
Chicken Cordon Blue
Bierocks
Lime Chicken Tacos

Home-made Pizza Dough
Home-made Tortillas
Bread
Pancakes and Waffles
Breakfast cookies
muffins -- pumpkin and berry
Harvest Loaf
Zucchini Bread
Pumpkin pancakes
Pumpkin waffles

A new favorite muffin :)

One of my favorite bloggers, Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking, posted this recipe recently and my family loved it. I ended up cooking them a little longer than she mentioned because I used bananas I had just thawed from the freezer and they were still cold. I like the recipe because all the sweet fruit made it possible to decrease the sweetener. I used about 3/4 cup honey instead of sucanat and it worked fine. I'll probably try 2/3 cup next time. I was out of coconut oil, so I used butter instead. And I'm pretty sure I had a lot more cinnamon than the recipe called for because my toddler shook it in :) I doubled the recipe and froze them for a quick breakfast when needed. If you like these, you should really try out Lindsay's other recipes because we have loved all the ones we have tried!

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (or 2 cups sprouted flour and skip the soaking!)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup sucanat or rapadura
• 2 eggs flaxseed binder
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cultured buttermilk, kefir, yogurt, or acid medium of your choice
• 1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 apples – peeled, cored and shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin cups, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the coconut oil and sucanat/rapadura. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and buttermilk/yogurt/kefir. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each muffin cup full.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Soaking Adaption: Combine flour, coconut oil, acid medium (buttermilk, yogurt, etc), and an additional 1/4 cup warm filtered water. Mix thoroughly and then cover and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours. After soaking, add the sucanat/rapadura, eggs, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly as there may be small clumps of soaked dough that needs to be broken down. Fold in the mashed bananas and apples. Gently and quickly incorporate the salt, baking soda and baking power. Fill each muffin cup full. Bake as described above.

Cara's Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

My friend Cara sent me this recipe and we all really enjoyed it! Mark said it is one of the "most authentic Mexican-tasting dishes" I've made :) That is probably because of the cilantro, which I haven't used very much before but definitely will now! We used mild salsa instead of green salsa and I actually fried the tacos instead of baking them because Mark likes 'em crispy ). We paired it with Cara's quinoa and black beans recipe and it was quite a hit! It will definitely be a staple on my meal plan now!

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
small flour or corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.

(If you decided to prep this in advance, refrigerate the mixture at this point until ready to continue.)

Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).

Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.

Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone. Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

**To freeze: Before baking, chill the taquitos on the baking sheet in the fridge. Once completely cooled, wrap each taquito individually with plastic wrap. Place in a labeled freezer bag and freeze. To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes.

Taco soup made healthier

This post is part of the Whole Food for the Holidays Progressive Dinner! My family LOVES taco soup! Even my picky toddler will gobble it down if I tone down the spiciness with some sour cream or cream cheese. We have really enjoyed THIS recipe but since I'm trying to make all my recipes healthier, I wanted to do without the packaged taco seasoning. And I had a leftover cup of butternut squash that needed to be used, so I thought I'd give it a try. I also randomly decided to throw in some spinach to see if anyone minded. I was utterly amazed that it didn't bother them at all and my husband actually said that it was the best taco soup I had made yet! So hopefully I can remember how I did it :)

Ingredients:
1 pound taco meat
1 cup (or more, depending on how thick you want it) of home-made chicken stock
1 jar organic salsa
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 can organic Italian style diced tomatoes (make sure you look at ingredients to make sure there is no HFCS!!!)
1 1/2 cup soaked, cooked beans (we like black beans, but you can use whatever you like)
1 1/2 cup frozen organic corn
1 cup of butternut squash puree (optional)
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained (optional)
chili powder to taste if it is not spicy enough for you

Directions: If you are making taco meat, saute the green peeper and onion with the ground beef until tender, adding in the other ingredients as the recipe call for them. Then add the taco meat along with all the above ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low all day. If your taco meat is already made, just throw it along with everything else into the crock pot. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and chips or on top of quinoa.

Cheesy breadsticks and cinnamon sugar sticks

I know, I'm waaay behind in my updating. It just so happened that last week my girls somehow had a hard time napping at the same time. Which meant that my blogging time disappeared :) But I think I've got them figured out now, so this week should be better :)

OK, this pizza dough recipe is officially my favorite go-to recipe now. It is awesome because I make 4 sets of dough and only use one, so I always have some in the freezer to grab in a hurry. I've started making fun breadsticks out of the dough, both the yummy cheesy kind and the cinnamon-sugar kind for dessert or breakfast. It is really easy. And my husband and toddler LOVE them!

Cheesy breadsticks
(this recipe is extremely versatile -- I know you want me to put exact measurements, but you can really put as much cheese or butter or seasonings as you like -- go ahead and experiment!!!)

Ingredients:
1 ball of pizza dough
your favorite shredded cheese
softened or melted butter (I used about 3/4 stick)
your favorite seasonings (I like garlic powder and a little oregano)

Directions: Roll out dough; cover with butter. Sprinkle on seasonings and cheese. Fold up each side like a tortilla. Slice in breadstick-like pieces; place on pan and twist (I'll take pics next time so you can see what it is supposed to look like :) Bake at 350 for about 15-20 min. These are awesome served with marinara and/or garlic butter dipping sauce

Cinnamon Breadsticks

Ingredients:
1 ball of pizza dough
softened or melted butter
Cinnamon
your choice of sweetener: I've tried maple syrup, honey, and rapadura with sucess

Directions: Same as above except substitute the cinnamon and sweetener for cheese and seasonings. These are awesome served with my cream cheese icing

Healthy Chocolate Breakfast Cake

Did someone say "chocolate for breakfast?" Count me in! I was excited to find this on one of my favorite blogs. Its not tooo chocolatety or sweet, but perfect for fixing that chocolate craving first thing in the morning :) My toddler loves muffins and they freeze well, so thats what I made. The recipe doesn't make too much, so I'm going to double the recipe from now on and freeze a bunch for a quick breakfast.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 - 1 cup natural sweetener
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (or combination of both), in its solid state
1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder (as desired, we use 2 Tbsp)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
dash of cloves
1/2 cup nuts, if desired
1 cup cultured buttermilk, kefir, whey, yogurt (or your preferred acid medium for soaking)

SOAKING STEP: In a large bowl, combine flour and acid medium (buttermilk, kefir, whey or yogurt, as desired). Cover and allow to soak for 12-24 hours.

After soaking, combine remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan and cover with chopped nuts, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

If you want to skip out on the soaking, follow these directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar; cut in the butter/coconut oil until crumbly. Add cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and cloves; mix well. Make a well in the center; pour in the buttermilk and stir until moistened. Transfer to a greased 8 x8 baking pan and sprinkle with nuts. Bake as instructed above.

Recipe found at: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/03/chocolate-coffee-cake.html

This post is part of KK's SUYL breakfasts!

Oatmeal cranberry Muffins

I double this recipe and freeze lots of muffins for quick breakfasts. And any dried fruit will work nicely -- I've even used dried figs :) I like to soak my grains for better nutrition, so I just soak the oats and flour in the yogurt overnight, adding a tiny bit of water to make sure they are all moist.

2 Cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Cups yogurt (plain or vanilla only, please)

2 large eggs, beaten

1 Cup brown sugar (I'm going to use maple syrup)

2 sticks butter, melted and cooled

2 cups flour (I've used both white whole wheat and all purpose with great results)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I recommend almonds, walnuts or pecans)

In a large bowl combine oats and yogurt and let stand 12-24 hours.

When ready to cook muffins, first melt butter and then leave to cool.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and grease muffin pans. At this time, measure cranberries into a glass measuring cup and add hot water to cover. This will plump up the dried cranberries and make them softer in the muffins once baked.

Add egg, sugar and melted butter to oat mixture, stirring until just combined. Sift on top of creamed mixture the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda and stir until just combined. Drain cranberries and fold in to batter along with chopped nuts.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pans. Bake muffins in middle of oven until golden and toothpick test comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Makes two dozen muffins.

http://sarahs-musings.blogspot.com/2007/10/on-menu-oatmeal-cranberry-muffins-and.html

(Mostly) Healthy Chocolate Candy!

I was super excited to find this easy, yummy, and even (mostly) healthy candy recipe from Kelly ! I tried it several different ways, so please read the notes at the bottom for add-ins and tips :) And it definitely melts in your hand, so keep them stored in the freezer til you are ready to eat them :) I call them "mostly" healthy because they do have maple syrup in them, (so you don't want to eat them in excess) but at least it contains all natural ingredients instead of refined sugar or HFCS!

• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• 1/2 c. real maple syrup (use less to make them healthier, but they tasted too dark for me without more maple syrup!)
• 1/2 c. organic cocoa powder
• 1 t. organic vanilla
• 1/2 t. sea salt

Melt together gently in a saucepan over low-ish heat until it’s all mixed together. I kept it super easy and instead of using molds or ice cube trays, I just put some parchment paper on a couple cookie sheets and dropped quarter-sized candies onto that. (Makes about 7 dozen.) Freeze for a little while to cool them down. Freeze leftovers (if there are any:) for a quick, yummy treat.

*We made some with sunflower butter (Karis is allergic to P.B.) instead of cocoa powder and my family actually preferred those! But the best mix was 1/4 cup sunflower butter and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. We tried out all kinds of different add-ins like coconut, raisins, and slivered almonds! They were all yummy, especially the combination of all three!

*I also tried out 3 different ways of freezing them: dollops on wax paper, mini-muffin tins, and filling up a wax-paper-lined cookie sheet completely with the melted candy and breaking it into "candy bark" after freezing. The last method was the easiest because the melted form is pretty runny til frozen.

Healthy Breakfast "cake"

I'm always looking for a healthy breakfast for my family, and we really like this one. We love muffins, so I make these and freeze them for a quick breakfast. It can be a little crumbly, but I usually douse it with coconut oil or serve it with milk like a warm cereal for Karis and its so yummy! I most recently made it with chopped dates and we all really liked it. I often make these into muffins and freeze them for a quick breakfast :)

1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups whole rolled oats
¾ cup honey
2 eggs
1 t. sea salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 cup raisins, chocolate chips or other dried fruit

Stir together butter, buttermilk, flour and oats in a glass bowl. Cover with a cloth and allow the grains to soak on your counter overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Stir in honey, eggs, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Fold in raisins, chocolate chips or dried fruit. Pour into a buttered 9×9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/blog/mom-is-great-she-gives-us-breakfast-cake

Baked Cheesy Chicken

This is a super yummy home-made version of chicken nuggets. My family loves chicken nuggets but I always wonder what all actually goes into the store-bought kind... it just doesn't seem like real meat to me :) So this recipe is great and has become one of my husband's favorites! I double the recipe and make them into chicken strips and they freeze great!

Ingredients: (organic when you can)
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. sea salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. garlic powder
1 egg
1 T. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/4 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
6 thin boneless-skinless pieces of chicken, cut into smaller pieces if you'd like to make them kid-friendly and more "nugget" shaped. (Try to use chicken that is locally raised, free-range, no hormones, etc.)
2 T. butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 9x13 baking dish with 1/4 c. melted butter. In one bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper & garlic powder. In another bowl beat together the egg and milk. In a third bowl, mix the cheese & bread crumbs. Dip each chicken piece first in flour, then egg mixture, then cheese mixture and place the pan. (Once you get everything in the bowls, it goes fast.) Drizzle 2 T. butter evenly over chicken. Bake 35 minutes in preheated oven, or until coating is golden brown and chicken juices run clear.
Found at: http://www.kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/02/easy-chicken-recipe-better-than-chicken.html

Lasagna Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef 4 T. minced onion, or chopped fresh onion 4 cups tomato sauce 1 T. basil 1 T. oregano 1 t. garlic powder ½ t. salt 8 oz. cottage cheese 8 oz. pkg. pasta (any shape) (I use rice pasta) 8 oz. mozzarella cheese (or cheddar, or a mixture of both) Brown ground beef and minced onion. Drain grease. Add tomato sauce, basil, oregano, garic powder and salt. Allow meat and sauce to simmer about 20 minutes. Boil pasta according to package. Drain and stir pasta into sauce. Add cottage cheese, stirring until everything is evenly mixed. Pour into a casserole dish (9×13). Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. If you freeze this dish, be sure to allow at least a day to thaw on the countertop, or two days in the fridge before baking.

http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/blog/lasagna-casserole

Easy, healthy chocolate ice cream

I'm taking a break from cow's milk because I think it might be bothering my baby's tummy. So I was excited to find this super healthy and rich chocolate ice cream recipe. The canned coconut milk can be found in the Asian section of just about any grocery store (I got mine at Walmart). Just make sure you don't get the "Light" or "low fat" kind. That coconut cream is super healthy for ya! I didn't have agave syrup, so I just used about 3/4 cup of maple syrup, but I'm sure honey would work well, too. I also don't have an ice cream maker, so I just froze it in a container. It was more of an icy dessert than creamy because I did that, but it was still yummy and satisfied my ice cream craving. You just have to take it out of the freezer ahead of time so its not too hard. I'm probably going to add in some peanut butter next time :)

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

3 cups of unsweetened coconut milk (about two cans)
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
6 tablespoons agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk cocoa powder in a small amount of coconut milk, until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Or dump all ingredients together and blend with a stick blender. Make according to your machines instructions.

Found at: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/05/chocolate-coconut-milk-ice-cream-2.html

Home-made hot pockets

I guess you could do this with most any bread recipe, but I thought this one looked good. I plan to use them with a pizza filling, my barbeq beef filling, ham and cheese, or whatever else sounds good to me at the moment. I'm just excited that they freeze well :) I'm going to to try soaking the grain first for the health benefits, but I'll let you know later if it worked :)

Crust

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. sea salt
1 cup melted butter
1 cup plain yogurt

Stir ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.

To form a Pocket

Roll a small ball of dough into a circle. Put a spoonful of your choice of filling in the middle. Fold the dough in half. Use a fork to pinch the edges together.

Lay Pockets on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for about one hour. Pop them off the cookie sheet and put them into a freezer bag…and back into the freezer.

Bake your Pockets

For frozen Pizza Pockets, bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. If the Pizza Pockets are thawed, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Recipe found at http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/blog/healthy-treat-for-today-homemade-pizza-pockets

Macaroni Grill Chicken Cannelloni

I love Macaroni Grill, but we hardly ever go there because my hubby doesn't really care for it. So I was pretty excited to find this recipe online! If my baby doesn't come this week, I'll try it and let you know if its as good as the restaurant! I would imagine that it would freeze pretty well, too.


Cannelloni Filling
8 ounces chicken breast (about 2), cooked thoroughly
1 ounce fresh spinach, chopped
1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
16 ounces ricotta cheese
3 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon table-ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
12 lasagna pasta sheets, approximate size of 5 x 6 inches

Cannelloni Sauce
16 ounces Asiago cream sauce, or your favorite Alfredo sauce
16 ounces Macaroni Grill tomato sauce, or your favorite
tomato-based pasta sauce
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions: Once the chicken breast has been cooked thoroughly, allow it to cool to an internal temperature of 45 degrees F.

Dice the cooled chicken breast into 1/2-inch pieces and place into a large mixing bowl. Add spinach, tomatoes, ricotta, mozzarella, pepper and salt, and mix thoroughly.

Arrange precooked pasta sheets on a cutting board and place two or three rounded tablespoons of filling mixture down the center of each pasta sheet and carefully roll pasta around filling in a cigar fashion. Place the rolled cannelloni, side by side, into an ovenproof shallow baking dish. Place Asiago sauce (or Alfredo sauce) and tomato sauce in bowl and mix until well incorporated. Pour sauce over cannelloni covering completely. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over top of sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes.

Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. Remove from oven and serve family style or on individual plates garnished with fresh diced tomatoes, and basil or Italian parsley.