Pizza Casserole

2 cups uncooked rotini pasta

1/4 pound ground beef

1/4 pound Italian sausage, turkey sausage or pork sausage

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup sliced pepperoni, cut into bite sized pieces

16 ounces pizza sauce

4 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese*

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Spray 2 quart casserole with cooking spray.

In large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef and sausage with garlic, onion and pepper. Drain excess fat. 

Stir in pasta, pepperoni, mushrooms, pizza sauce, milk, Parmesan and half of the mozzarella cheese.  Mix well and pour mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

based on this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pizza-Casserole/Detail.aspx

*I didn't have enough mozzarella so used 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup Mexican blend cheese and it was great

Lasagna

1/2 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup minced onion
1 24 oz jar Barilla roasted garlic pasta sauce
8 Barilla no boil lasagna noodles
8 oz reduced fat cottage cheese
1 small jar sliced mushrooms
16 slices reduced fat provolone cheese
Parmesan cheese

Brown turkey and onion together until turkey is done and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 2 qt square casserole or 9x9 pan with cooking spray. Spoon approximately 1/2 cup sauce into bottom of dish and spread to coat.

Layer 2 lasagna noodles, 1/3 cottage cheese, 1/3 turkey, 1/3 mushrooms, 4 slices provolone, sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.

Repeat twice. End with remaining 2 noodles, sauce and 4 slices provolone.

Bake covered with foil or lid for 50-60 minutes. Remove cover and bake 5-10 minutes more or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Serves 4.

Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken

1 packet Grill Mates Tomato Garlic Basil marinade
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1 package thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts

Combine marinade mix with water, olive oil and white wine. Marinate chicken in mixture in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Place chicken and all the marinade liquid in large skillet. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Add a little more wine if you need more liquid. Turn chicken, reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered 10 minutes or until done. Stir and turn a few times while cooking. (NOTE: If you don't use the thinly sliced chicken, you may need to cook it longer).

Pesto Pasta with Chicken & Veggies

• 1 13 oz. package pasta (I used whole grain penne)


• Olive oil


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 1/4 cup minced onion


• 1 zucchini squash, sliced and quartered


• 1 yellow squash, sliced and quartered


• 1 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces


• 1 small jar sliced mushrooms


• 2 6-oz. packages Perdue Italian Style chicken shortcuts


• 10-oz. jar Classico Traditional Basil Pesto sauce (more or less, to taste)


• Sea Salt


• Fresh ground pepper


• Italian seasoning


• Parmesan cheese (I used approximately 2 Tbsp.)

This is a very flexible recipe - add or change vegetables and adjust seasonings to suit your taste.

Cook pasta according to package directions. While it cooks, saute garlic, onion, zucchini and yellow squash in olive oil, approx. 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes, mushrooms and chicken and cook until warmed through.

Drain pasta and return to the pot. Add pesto sauce and chicken mixture and toss to coat evenly. Add enough olive oil so that it's not too dry. Season with remaining seasonings to taste and stir in Parmesan cheese.

Heat up again if necessary (by the time I got the seasonings the way I wanted them, it needed to be warmed up a little) and serve.

Serves 6.

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Seasoned meat tenderizer (or regular seasoned salt)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. dried or fresh minced onion
1 cup Weight Watchers shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 cans 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 small jar sliced mushrooms
1 cup Weight Watchers shredded Mexican cheese blend (optional)

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 375.

Coat the bottom of the dish with a spoonful of soup.

Place chicken in dish. Sprinkle a little seasoned meat tenderizer on top of each piece of chicken. Top with garlic, onion and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

Mix remaining soup with mushrooms and spread on top.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. If you want it extra cheesy, add the Mexican blend cheese on top now and return to oven for 10-15 minutes.

Chicken ala the Fighting Sophias

My office recently had an iron chef competition, and the name of my team was The Fighting Sophias. Long story. Anyway, I tried to recreate the turkey dish we made at the competition using chicken. It is not exactly the same but it is good nonetheless. Problem is, I didn't measure anything so you have to guess at how much of everything to use. If you're up for that challenge, give it a try!

CHICKEN

• Marinate chicken breast (thinly sliced or pounded flat) in a mixture of white wine, olive oil, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, basil, fresh ground pepper and sea salt for at least 30 minutes, turning a few times.


• Bake on aluminum foil 10-15 minutes or until done (or better yet, grill)

CHUTNEY

• Mix chopped red pepper, chopped onion and minced garlic.


• Add Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, a little olive oil and a dash of crushed red pepper.


• Saute 5 minutes over medium heat

Serve chicken topped with the chutney. At the competition, we also included yellow peppers in the chutney and served it on a bed of sliced grilled zucchini. I just had sauteed zucchini and yellow squash on the side.

Reduced Fat Version: Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 1/2 cups Weight Watcher's shredded Mexican cheese blend
1/2 cup Reduced Fat Bisquick
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup Egg Beaters

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brown turkey and onion together. Drain. Stir in seasoned salt.

Spray 9" pie pan or square casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread cooked turkey mixture on bottom. Top with cheese.

Mix remaining ingredients with a fork until well blended and pour batter over top. Bake 25 minutes.

Mexican Lasagna

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 packet taco seasoning
2/3 cup water
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
4 flour tortillas
1 small container sour cream
2-3 cups shredded Mexican Cheese blend

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Spray 2 quart square casserole with Pam, then spoon some of the juice from the tomatoes in the bottom to lightly cover it.

Brown ground beef. Add taco seasoning, water and 1/2 can tomatoes and mix.

Lay one tortilla on bottom of casserole dish and cover with 1/3 of the meat mixture. Spoon 4 dollops of sour cream over meat. Cover with shredded cheese.  Repeat twice.

Top with last tortilla, rest of tomatoes and cheese.

Cover and bake 45 minutes.  Serve with tortilla chips.

 Great warmed over.

Herb Roasted Pork Chops and Vegetables

1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 small new red potatoes, unpeeled, quartered
2 cups ready-to-eat baby carrots
1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 boneless pork loin chops, trimmed of fat

Heat oven to 450F. Line 15x10x1 inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with olive oil cooking spray.

In small bowl, mix Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

In large bowl, mix potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic. Sprinkle with oil and half of herb mixture. Toss to coat evenly. Place in center of pan.

Bake 20 minutes. Stir vegetables. Place pork chops around vegetables. Sprinkle remaining herb mixture over pork chops and rub into meat.

Bake 15-20 minutes more, until pork is no longer pink and meat thermometer inserted in center reads 160F and vegetables are tender. (I cooked mine about 25 minutes more, but I had thick chops).


[from Recipes Inspired by The Best Life Diet;, modified by me only slightly]

Baked Tilapia

My first time cooking fish - for some reason I had been intimidated but it was so easy and quick.

Tilapia fillet(s) [or cod or flounder or whatever]
Olive oil
Pampered Chef dill seasoning
Seasoned salt
Garlic powder

Place fish on foil, drizzle with olive oil and season (Tilapia is very mild - I didn't put much seasoning on and should have used more. This is something I'll have to experiment with).

Close foil, bake @ 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes (mine was partially frozen and took about 13 or 14 minutes)

Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is surprisingly low on calories and fat but quite delicious. I wanted to note how I made this one for future reference

First I took a baking sheet and put two layers of aluminum foil on it. I placed my whole pork tenderloin on it. I put about 1-2 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil in my hands and rubbed it all over the tenderloin. Then I sprinkled both sides with seasoned salt, garlic powder and Kroger brand steak seasoning (the kind like Montreal steak seasoning). Then rubbed all of that seasoning in and pressed it into the meat.

Baked at 375 for 30 minutes. Turned the oven off and left it in the oven for another 10-15 minutes while I made the salad.

Tender and juicy!

For the Kroger brand tenderloin I had, the numbers for a 4 oz. serving (not
counting the olive oil and seasoning I added) were approximately:

100 Calories
Total Fat 2g
Saturated Fat 1g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 50mg
Sodium 390mg
Total Carbohydrate 1g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sugars 0g
Protein 22g

Garlic & Herb Baked Chicken

We need lots of good (and easy) heart healthy chicken recipes, if you have any! This is what I made last night. I experimented with cooking it in foil and it came out pretty good.

1 envelope McCormick Grill Mates® Garlic, Herb & Wine Marinade
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil (actually I used a little less than this)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Mix marinade with water then add olive oil and stir well. In glass bowl or plastic bag, coat chicken with marinade and refrigerate for 15 minutes or so. [The marinade mix calls for some vinegar also but I didn't have any.]

Line baking pan with a couple of layers of aluminum foil. Place chicken on foil. Top with another layer of foil and seal edges. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

I served this with Uncle Ben's whole grain brown & wild rice mix that you cook in the bag in the microwave for 90 seconds and steamed green beans.

Chicken Quesadillas

(first time I ever made them - noting what I did although I don't have exact ingredients)

1 package Tyson pre-cooked diced roasted chicken
1 package Taco bell fajita seasoning (or some kind of taco seasoning)
2 large tortillas
Pam spray
1-2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend*

Preheat oven to 350

Prepare chicken according to package directions, except for that amount of chicken I only used half of the dry mix. Stir and warm on the stove.

Spray tortillas and place sprayed side down on baking sheet. Put half of chicken on each tortilla (on one side). I also spooned a little of the liquid over the chicken after putting it on the tortilla.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake @ 350 for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Cut into slices with a pizza cutter and serve with salsa and sour cream.

-----
*I actually didn't have any so I used some cheddar and a mozzarella/provolone mix

Pigs in a Blanket

Hungry Jack flaky biscuits

Hot dogs

shredded Mexican cheese blend

Garlic powder

PAM olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray baking sheet with olive oil Pam.

Press biscuit flat into a rectangle as long as a hot dog and about 3 times as wide. Sprinkle very lightly with garlic powder and sprinkle about a tablespoon of cheese over the biscuit. Lay hot dog down at one edge and roll up. Repeat for each hot dog.

Bake at 350 for approx. 12 minutes.

Quick Taco Pie

New recipe I tried last night. The only thing I didn't like about it was the crescent roll crust. I didn't like the sweet flavor it gave it. Next time, I think I will try just using a tortilla or two for the crust. Or maybe a premade pizza crust.

1 package taco seasoning mix
1 to 1.5 pounds ground chuck (I can never find 1 pound pkgs anymore)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sliced black olives (optional - didn't include; Husband doesn't like them)
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls (see note above)
2 cups crushed Fritos corn chips
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend (I used monterey jack & cheddar mix)

In a large fry pan, brown the ground chuck. Drain. Stir in seasoning mix, water, and olives. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Place triangles in an ungreased 10-inch pie pan (I used the Pampered Chef 9x9 square baker), pressing to form a crust. Sprinkle 1 cup corn chips over the bottom of crust. Spoon meat mixture over corn chips. Spread sour cream over meat mixture. Cover with cheese. Sprinkle remaining corn chips over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Based on this recipe from allrecipes.com, with minor changes.

Grilled Ribeye Steak

Marinate steak in Kraft Free Zesty Italian salad dressing in refrigerator overnight or for several hours.

About a half hour before cooking, while the grill is heating up, remove steak from refrigerator and season to taste with Montreal Steak Seasoning.

Tell your husband to grill it to medium rare (or use a thermometer fork and cook it to your liking).

Pizza

1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
3/4 cup warm water - 110 degrees
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Garlic powder
Pizza sauce
2 cups shredded cheese (I like the Kraft mozzarella/provolone mix)
Your favorite pizza toppings

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water; allow to rest for 8 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture and mix well with a heavy spoon. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Coat hands with olive oil and pat dough into ball Working from the edges to the center, press dough into a 12" circle.

Place dough on a lightly greased pizza pan and stretch dough to edges, leaving a thicker crust around the edges (I use a Pampered Chef bar pan).

Spread sauce over crust and top with garlic powder, cheese and desired toppings.

Bake in a 500 degree oven for 8-12 minutes (mine usually takes about 15) or until edges are golden brown.



Original Crust Recipe: Robbie's Recipe Collection Thin Crust Pizza Dough (I made minor changes)

Supreme Soft Tacos

3 flour tortillas (taco size)
1 pkg. Louis Rich Grilled Chicken Strips
Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning
Sour Cream
Sargento 4-Cheese Mexican Blend
Chunky salsa
Lettuce

Warm tortillas (I wrapped mine in foil and baked them at 350 for 10 minutes or so or you can do them in the microwave - see package).

Preheat medium skillet on medium high. Place chicken strips in skillet. Sprinkle with Pampered Chef seasoning. Stir and cook until heated through.

To make each taco, spread a little sour cream in the middle of the tortilla. Add 1/3 of the chicken. Then top with cheese, a little salsa, and a little lettuce. You will have experiment with how much of each to suit your own taste.

Baked Ziti

8 oz. penne pasta
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
4 oz. sour cream
3 oz. mozzarella cheese slices
3 oz. provolone cheese slices
Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil (I used Pampered chef Italian Seasoning)

Brown ground beef with onion; drain. Add spaghetti sauce to ground beef and let it simmer while you get everything else ready. Boil pasta for 10 minutes; drain.

Lightly grease 2 qt. casserole dish. Layer half of pasta; half of cheese; half of sauce; and half of sour cream. Repeat. Top with Parmesan cheese and seasoning.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Serves 4 (you can also double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13 pan)

Ranch chicken

2 Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
Soft butter
Ranch dressing
Garlic & herb flavored bread crumbs

- Preheat oven to 350
- Spray baking dish with Pam
- Pound chicken until 1/4 inch thick
- Spread some butter on one side and roll up (butter inside)
- Coat with ranch dressing
- Coat with bread crumbs
- Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes