Spinach manicotti

I think that this dish is considered to be a difficult dish, however this recipe certainly makes it simple. It is also a nice change when you want something without meat.

You will need: 7-8 manicotti shells | non-stick spray | 1 15oz container ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan | 1 10 oz package spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 cups prepared marinara sauce | 2 tbsp cream (I used half and half)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil the pasta for 7-8 minutes, drain and place in an 8-inch square baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix the spinach, ricotta, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, s&p. Transfer to a plastic bag, squeeze bag and cut off corner. Squeeze filling into the shells, filling halfway from one side and then switching to the other side. Place back into baking dish.

In a separate bowl, mix the cream and marinara sauce. Pour over the top of the filled manicotti.  Sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan over the top. Bake for 30 minutes.

Tomato jam

This past weekend I spent some time in Atlanta and ate at a local Italian place. For lunch my friend and I had some pretty unique sandwiches. I had a pimento cheese and bacon jam panini and she had a meatloaf panini with tomato jam. Both were fantastic so I want to recreate them both at home. I am still working on the bacon jam but I did make a batch of tomato jam and I want to share it with you.

You need 5lb of tomatoes, chopped. These are some tomatoes I froze from last summer, aren't they gorgeous? They worked fine, but I did drain them as they thawed.

The rest of the cast of characters: 3 1/2 cups sugar | 8tbsp lime juice | 2 tsp freshly grated ginger

1tsp cinnamon | 1/2 tsp ground cloves | 1tbsp salt | 1 tbsp red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer. Stir regularly and cook until it reduces to a jam-like consistency. This takes about 2 hours. 

When the jam has cooked down enough, fill sanitized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space. Wipe rims, apply lids and twist on rings. Process in a boiling bath for 20 minutes. When time is up, removes jars from water bath and cool. Be sure to test your seals. Store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

Chicken pomodoro

It sounds so fancy but couldn't be any easier or tastier. No need to order this at a restaurant any more!

You will need: 1lb boneless, skinless chicken (I use 5-6 tenders) | 3tbsp olive oil | 1 onion chopped fine

4 garlic cloves, minced | 1 14.5 oz can of Italian diced tomatoes | 1/3 cup heavy cream

Pat chicken dry and season with s&p. Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until done, transfer to a plate.

Heat remaining oil in the pan. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, cream and 1/4 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Add chicken back to the pan (I usually go ahead and cut the chicken into bite size pieces before adding back to the pan). Simmer about 10-15 minutes minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

Serve over rice or pasta.

Perfect potpie

I like chicken pot pie. I like the pie crust on the top and bottom, I like the kind that only has a top crust. I have found a recipe that makes a very delicious top crust that uses very common ingredients and cooks up even and pretty.

Filling: Mix together 2 cups of your frozen veggies | 1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked chicken | 1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder | 1 can cream of celery | 1 can cream of chicken or mushroom

Spread into a greased 13x9 pan.

Crust: 1/2 cup butter, melted | 1 cup all purpose flour | 1 cup milk | 1/4 tsp pepper | 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

Mix all ingredients together, it will be a little lumpy. Spread evenly over the veggie mixture. Bake at 400 degrees until golden, about 30-35 minutes.

Two-ingredient lemon bars (?)

I can hardly resist a recipe with only two (or three) ingredients, so when I saw this one on Pinterest I knew I needed to try it.

All you need is: an angel food cake mix | lemon pie filling | confectioners sugar. 

Mix the lemon pie filling with the cake mix. Be careful, though, because the cake mix is very light and it will seem like the two won't mix well. Then pour it into a 9x13 pan. I sprayed mine with a flour/cooking spray combo that you can get at the store. It helped keep the cake from sticking to the pan. Then bake in a preheated over at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

If you are so inclined, you can dust it with powdered sugar. To me this was less like a lemon bar and more like a light lemon cake. Try it out for yourself and tell me what you think!

Bacon Meatballs

Everyone loves bacon, well almost everyone. I met a girl yesterday who does not really care for it. I love bacon but I am not into gratuitous bacon usage. It really makes these meatballs great.

4 strips of bacon | 1/2 cup diced onion | 2 garlic cloves, minced

1lb hamburger meat | 1/2 cup bread crumbs | s&p | 2 eggs, beaten

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. Cook bacon in the skillet and set aside. After cooled chop up the bacon. Reserve about a tbsp of bacon grease. Add the onion to the pan. Saute about 3 minutes and add the garlic. Saute for another minute. Set aside to cool. 

In a bowl combine meat, bread crumbs, seasonings, bacon and the garlic/onion mixture. Add in the egg. Form into ball about the size of a walnut and place on the broiler pan. 

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until browned and cooked through. 

This recipe makes between 22-28 meatballs. We typically eat about 4 each. You can toss the meatballs in your favorite bbq sauce. They freeze easily so feel free to double the recipe.

Roasted radishes

This time of year is something I really look forward to because there is so much wonderful produce available to eat. For a short period of time in the spring you can get fresh radishes. One of my favorite things to do is to roast them, delicious!

All you need for this super easy recipe is about 20 radishes, 1-2 tbsp olive oil and 1-2 tbsp of soy sauce. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Wash and cut the radishes into quarters. Toss with the oil and spread out into a single layer on a cookie sheet. I like to line mine with aluminum foil for easier clean-up. Roast the radishes for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle and toss with the soy sauce and roast for another 5-10 minutes.

The beauty of roasting radishes is that it takes the heat right out of them. This pairs easily with any dish you can think of because even though soy sauce is traditionally used for Asian foods, this does not have an overpowering taste.

How I cut a pineapple

Pineapple is so much better fresh! I don't know if this is how the "pros" do it, but after much trial and error, this is my system for cutting one up.

Step 1: Cut the top off the pineapple.



Step 2: Then cut the bottom off the pineapple and stand it up straight. Start cutting the rind off by cutting in small strips down the side. The smaller the strips, the more circular your pineapple will end up being. Try not to cut the strips too thick, you will be wasting precious pineapple flesh.

Step 3: Once you have all the rind cut off, cut it in half.

Step 4: Cut both of the pineapple pieces in half again lengthwise (quarters). Stand one of the quarters up and trim the core off by cutting the center piece out. Repeat with all the quarters.

Step 5: Turn the quarter piece on the curve part and cut lengthwise into halves, thirds or quarters depending on how big you want the final pieces to be. Then cut widthwise the pineapple. Repeat with all the quarters.

ENJOY!

Crunchy munchy honey cakes - sort of

In keeping with the Wiggles birthday party theme, I decided to try and make "crunchy munchy honey cakes," as featured on a Wiggles song. However I ran into trouble finding muesli flakes, so I substituted quick cooking oats. They taste pretty good, however they didn't flatten into a "cake," they stayed ball shaped.

Your cast of characters:

3 cups muesli flakes (or quick cooking oats) | 1/2 cup sugar | 1c self rising flour, sifted | 1c coconut
125 grams butter (about 9 tbsp) | 2tsp honey | 3tbsp milk

Combine dry ingredients. Heat butter, milk and honey over medium heat. Mix well and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well.

Roll into balls the size of walnuts and place on a greased baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 350  degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I felt they were a tad boring so I melted some chocolate and drizzled over the top. What isn't improved by chocolate?

Not just for Easter

As I have mentioned, my sweet girl's birthday is this weekend, so she is going to take a snack to school tomorrow I have done cookies for the last two years and I wanted to do something different. When I was browsing around Pinterest one day, I saw the simple recipe for birds nests. I first had one when I was in elementary school. It is hard to believe that I can remember that far back, but it definitely left an impression. So here is my favorite version. You can make it your own by substituting any kind of meltable chocolate, or by mixing them.

12 oz chow mein noodles | 12 oz butterscotch chips | chocolate eggs, or whatever you want to use as eggs

Melt the butterscotch chips by microwave or by double boiler, the package will have directions. Mix in the chow mein noodles. This is where all your arm curls come in handy.

Set aside while you line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Drop the mixture by the spoonful onto the foil/paper and shape into nests. Make an indention in the middle for the eggs. Let set for about an hour.

Add the eggs. See my little helper's hand? She loved adding the eggs herself.

 We packaged the nests in bags and taped them tight to keep the eggs in place. These would be really cute for a wedding or baby shower.

I am not ashamed

I love meatloaf. I openly admit it. And of course I think my recipe is the best. You be the judge, but I warn you; this is not a healthy recipe!

 Your cast of characters:

1.5lb hamburger meat

1 envelope Lipton Beefy Onion or Onion Mushroom Soup Mix

2 eggs

24 Captain Wafers or other similar sized cracker, crushed

1/4 -ish milk

2 tsp ketchup

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients except the ketchup. I use my hands, it is easiest. In a 13x9 baking pan, shape the mixture into a loaf. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes. Take out and spread the ketchup over the top. Bake for 10 minutes longer.

** I adapted this recipe from The Lipton Kitchen. I use less hamburger than the original recipe calls for because the meat will cook faster and make a nice crust. Also I use milk instead of water because it just tastes better.

Marsala Saute

It was once something we only ordered when we were out and about until I found this easy recipe. Now we can eat it at home. Chicken would work equally as well if you are not a fan of pork.
**Ignore the garlic in the picture, I am so used to using it that I automatically added it to the ingredients!**

about 1lb boneless porkchops, cut into thin strips

s&p

1/4 cup all purpose flour, plus 1tbsp

3 tbsp unsalted butter

8oz white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 small onion, chopped (I always use vidalia)

1/2 cup Marsala wine

3/4 cup chicken broth (I use bouillon dissolved in water)

2 tsp lemon juice

Place the 1/4 cup flour in a plastic bag. Season the porkchop strips and place in the bag, seal. Shake until all the pieces are coated. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large non-stick pan over med-high heat. Add the pork and cook until browned. Transfer to a plate.

Melt remaining butter in pan. Add mushrooms, onion, s&p until browned - 6-8 minutes. Stir in 1tbsp flour and cook until golden. Add in Marsala wine and chicken broth. Simmer until thickened. Stir in the lemon juice. Add the pork back to the pan. Simmer about a minute longer.

Serve over egg noodles. Yum!

Roasted Carrots with Honey

Three simple ingredients and you have the perfect side dish. It is beyond easy and your kids will eat it. What else could you ask for, hmm?

You will need:

1lb bag of carrots
(I use baby carrots because all the hard work is done and all you have to do is cut them in half. But you can use regular carrots. Peel them and cut them small.)

1tbsp olive oil

s&p

1 tbsp honey

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Toss carrots, oil and s&p in a bowl. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast, tossing once, until tender - 30 minutes or so. Remove from oven and toss with honey.

That's it, so simple. So delicious.