Italian Casserole Dish

This is a relatively quick meal to get into the oven. You can add some crusty, warmed bread, and a crisp salad to make it a feast and impress your family with your culinary abilities!

Italian Casserole Dish
8-10 ounces uncooked pasta shape of choice (not spaghetti, however)
2 eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese, divided
1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
Pinch of chili flakes to taste
2-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, divided

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cottage cheese, spinach, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, Feta cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and chili flakes; set aside. Stir in 2 cups of spaghetti sauce into the pasta. Layer half of the pasta mixture in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish coated with vegetable oil spray. Layer with spinach mixture, remaining pasta mixture and remaining spaghetti sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Cover and bake at 350° for approximately 45 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover and continue baking for another 10 minutes to brown the top a bit.

Homemade Roasted Almonds – A Healthy Snack!

Since I try to keep the foods around the house of the healthier variety, I’m always on the lookout for ideas to provide snacks that satisfy yet aren’t full of empty calories.  I recently remembered a favorite recipe. I was reminded about it when I was organizing the freezer and found a forgotten bag of just the almonds I needed.

Almond Snack
Approximately two pounds of shelled but unblanched almonds
1 egg white
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like it hotter)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large, rimmed baking pan with parchment paper.

Dump the almonds into a large mixing bowl. Add the egg white and mix into the nuts to coat them all. I know, it seems that one egg white isn’t enough but it is! Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to get all the nuts coated.

Spread the nuts evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the nut are hot through and the coating is dry. It is a good idea to pull the pan out every few minutes and stir them around for more even roasting.

Let them cool thoroughly before storing them in a container. Makes a great hostess gift packed in a small canning jar with a bit of fabric to decorate the lid. Nice to have a jar on the counter for the family to grab a quick snack. Goes well with an apple for breakfast!

The spices listed are easily increased, changed, or added to in order to come up with a taste treat of your own making. I usually increase the heat a bit more as we like spicy. You could, of course, omit the sweet and go with savory, too. Still use a bit of sugar to form the coating but a touch of sweet is good for enhancing savory spice.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things! – Fast and Easy Chicken Dinner

Three of my favorite things all in one pan – chicken, artichokes, and Feta Cheese! This is a fast and easy recipe which goes well over rice or along side some rustic bread to dip in the juices.

Artichoke, Feta Pan Chicken

About two pounds skinless chicken thighs (if you go boneless, allow for a bit more)
Splash of olive oil
5 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled, smashed, and chopped.
About two cups of canned diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried Basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Oregano
½ teaspoon chili flakes
1 cup, approximately, marinated artichoke hearts not drained
4-6 ounces Feta Cheese
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and fresh Basil, if available

Brown the chicken on all sides. Just before they are done, add the garlic and continue cooking until the garlic softens. Add the tomatoes and artichokes, juice and all! Add the salt, pepper, and spices. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and continue cooking uncovered. Turn the chicken pieces to cook evenly. Depending on the thickness, this could take 15-25 minutes.

Crumble the Feta on top of the chicken and heat until the cheese starts to melt a bit. Garnish with the parsley and fresh Basil. There will be a lot of juice in the pan. Place the chicken into bowls and serve with the sauce poured over it. Crusty bread goes great with this but you could serve it over freshly-cooked pasta or steamed rice. Put out some freshly grated Parmesan or Romano along with extra chili flakes.

Cookie Dough Dip – The Latest Craze?

This is really, really rich but could be a fun dessert after a light meal. It is open to all kinds of creativeness for adding your own tastes and idea.

Cookie Dough Dip
8 ounces softened cream cheese (you can use the lower calorie one but why bother? Smile)
1/2 cup butter, softened (margarine wouldn’t be good here)
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter, your choice. (Wouldn’t use natural as it would be too oily)
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (You can easily use a gluten-free blend)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups rolled oats (toasting them and cooling them first, would be another flavor level)

Cream together the cream cheese, butter, peanut butter, sugars, flour and vanilla until light and fluffy and very smooth. Mix in the oatmeal.

The creative part! The add-ins make it tasty and unique to your personal specifications. Choose one or more of the following to create your perfect, decadent cookie dough dip.

1/3 – 2/3 cup M&M’s – plain or peanut
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white candy chips
1 cup chopped up peanut butter cups
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, pecans, or peanuts
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1 cup chocolate-covered raisins
1 cup chocolate-covered peanuts
1 cup Bridge mix
1 cup diced orange slice candy
1 cup roughly chopped malt ball candy
Swirl in some Nutella or similar chocolate hazel nut paste
Swirl in your favorite jelly or jam

Now, what to do with this concoction! Place the Cookie Dough dip in a serving bowl and surround it with apple slices, graham crackers, pretzels, celery sticks, simple cookies, pear slices . . . It’s a fun contrast on a buffet table or for a snack party.

What? Lemon Spice Avocado Bread? Really?

Lemon Spice Avocado Bread
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Freshly grated zest from one lemon
1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups thoroughly mashed avocado
1/2 cup toasted and ground walnuts or pecans
1 cup dried cranberries

Place all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Stir in everything else and mix well to combine. Spread into two or three vegetable-oiled sprayed loaf pans. (depends on the size) You can also do these as mini-loaves or muffin size, too. Just need to adjust your baking time.

Bake at 325 degrees (preheated oven) for approximately 45-60 minutes our until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out without any wetness.

Cool in pans about 20 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. You can glaze the loaves with a tart lemon icing, if you like.

Monkey Bread – No Monkeys Were Harmed in the Making of This Bread!

My favorite treat for a  breakfast, teatime or snack is Monkey Bread. There is something about those balls of dough, covered in butter and cinnamon/sugar that seems special. We won’t count calories because anything that makes you happy, shouldn’t be given a calorie number.

This is a fun recipe as you don’t even have to make the dough making it a great, last-minute treat.

Monkey Bread – The Easy Way
3 cans of the refrigerated canned biscuits
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of Nutmeg
1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons water

Cut each biscuit into fourths and roll them in a mixture of the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Place them in a well-greased or vegetable oil sprayed Bundt pan. Melt the butter, brown sugar, and water. boil this for 2-3 minutes and pour over the balls of biscuit dough  in the Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until it is puffed up a bit and golden. Immediately turn over onto a serving plate and get it in front of your family who probably have already gathered once the scent of sugar and cinnamon was in the air.

Quick Pasta Dinner

Some days the time for dinner arrives and you remember right then that you have forgotten to defrost something or even plan a meal. I had some unexpected appointments crop up, yesterday, and by the time I could catch my breath, hungry children were prowling the kitchen. Fortunately, I’ve come up with some quick meals over the years which saves my ‘Mom’ reputation and gets the family happily fed. This is always a favorite and the ingredients are usually on hand.

Quick Pasta Dinner
1 pound of spaghetti (any shape will work, however)
8 strips of bacon, diced
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons pesto
5 smashed and chopped cloves of garlic
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste

First, get the bacon and garlic going in a large cooking pot. You want the bacon just crisp and the garlic softened. While this is cooking, have water boiling in another pot for the pasta.

Get the flavoring ingredients lined up and ready! Cook the pasta until just done. Drain and add to the pot with the garlic and bacon. The oil from the bacon replaces the need for butter so leave it there! Mix and then add the eggs and milk keeping the heat on low while you do this. Stir constantly until it gets creamy and add the rest of the ingredients. Heat through and serve with a salad or steamed vegetable. If you have garlic bread on hand, so much the better.

This recipe is a nice departure from the regular tomato pasta dishes. There is lots of room for creativity depending on your ingredients. You could even make it leaving out the pesto and Italian seasoning, using sharp cheddar and adding some onion powder.

Broccoli-Carrot Cake!

I was feeling challenged, one day so researched for a recipe using . . .  broccoli . . . but not as a vegetable or savory side dish but in a cake! I have made cakes with tomato, with garbanzo beans, carrots and thought about how one with broccoli would turn out. I actually found a couple of recipe but ended up putting together my own version. 

Broccoli–Carrot Cake

8 ounces steamed and pureed carrots (can use baby food, too)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup finely shredded carrots

1/3 cup finely shredded raw broccoli

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup ground walnuts

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Zest and juice of two limes

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Vegetable oil spray a round 8 x 1 1/2-inch cake pan or whatever works for you.

Put all the ingredient in a large mixing bowl and with a wooden spoon thoroughly mix until just blended.  Spread into prepared pan and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes.

When my cake  exited the oven, it smelled very good and looked pretty with the bits of orange and green peeking through the golden crust. The cake wasn’t light but it rose enough to be tender. My family ate it all so I called it a success. Since we are now gluten’free, I plan to try it, again, using BetterBatter flour blend and see how it turns out. Even with the health aspect, a good topping of freshly-whipped cream was very good . . . and we all need our dairy, right?

Tea Time Sandwiches

A friend and I once sponsored a cookie exchange with a snacking buffet during the holidays. I had a lot of fun researching snacks and finger foods for the event. This was a last-minute find but turned out to be the most popular. The ingredients sound simple but the combination got rave reviews. And, as always, a basic recipe is open to personal interpretation by way of extra seasonings or additions of your own.

Tea Time Sandwiches
Along with a salad, you have the makings of a light but elegant lunch.
1 cup pitted, chopped green olives
1 cup pitted, chopped black olives
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
2-3 stalks chopped celery
Soft butter
1 loaf of a good, solid textured brown or white bread
Combine the first five ingredients. Butter two slices of bread, spread mixture, form a sandwich and cut into small triangles. If you are feeling particularly elegant, you can cut off the crusts!