One Pot Pasta Wonder

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6 as an entree

12 ounces linguine pasta
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid ( I used zesty red pepper flavor)
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 large sprigs basil, chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (regular broth and NOT low sodium)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired .

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add basil leaves and stir pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot evenly throughout the pasta as you are serving. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.

I use this as a main dish.

Sweet Potato & Corn Bisque

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped

1-2 tablespoons garlic minced

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (about 2 1/2 punds)

4 cups vegetable stock

2 medium jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

2 cups yellow corn (fresh or frozen)

2 tablespoons molasses (we just used regular pancake syrup)

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pinch ground cinnamon 

1 bunch green onion, finely chopped green parts only for garnish

 

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until just soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and stock and bring to a boil.

 

2.  Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, regular blender or food processor, puree contents of pot, carefully and in batches if necessary, until smooth.

 

3. Reheat soup, stirring in jalapeno, corn, molasses, salt, cayenne, black pepper and cinnamon. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve, topped with scallions.

 

This makes about 8 servings and is only about 140 calories per serving. I added the jalapeno into just my bowl because others didn't want the heat.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

I made this recipe a couple sunday's ago and we loved it.  It is found here...

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did...

Lemon Chicken Sauce

Dice up chicken and cook through until lightly browned.  This is meant to be served over rice and chicken.  It is really good.

2/3 c. sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 Tbs. butter
1/4 c. milk (all we had was Almond Milk and we used that and it tasted just fine)

In a saucepan, stir together sugar and cornstarch.  Stir in the water and lemon juice.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for one more minute.  Gradually stir in butter until melted.  Stir in milk.  Serve over chicken and rice.

Sweet Citrus Chicken

This has become one of my new favorites because it is so easy and so good.

1 2/3 c. hot water
1 package (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing for chicken
6 small boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thickness (I use shredded chicken and it works just fine)
2/3 c. orange juice
1/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar
3 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted

Add hot water to stuffing mix, stir just until moistened. Set aside.

Place chicken in 9x13 pan.  Mix juice, sugar and butter until well blended.  Pour over chicken.  Top with prepared stuffing.  Bake @ 400* for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Mix together and put in a 9x13 pan:
1 box Chicken Rice-A-Roni, prepared
3-4 chicken breasts, boil for 20 min and shred
1 can cream of chicken
1 1/2 c. sour cream

Mix together and put on top of casserole:
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1 T. poppy seeds
3/4 c. margarine

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350*

Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf

I got the basis for this recipe from Aaron McCargo off of the Food Network site. But then I made it my own with seasonings I like and stuff I had on hand. It turned out really good. I served it with some roasted red potatoes. Even the boys ate it up and I am actually looking forward to leftovers.

Meatloaf ingredients:
2 pounds ground turkey
2 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs
minced garlic
1/4 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper
italian seasonings
onion - minced (half of it)
parsley

Filling ingredients:
chopped spinach
white mushroom
onion (other half)
1/2 cup green and red peppers
parsley
1/2 cup feta cheese

8 ounce can tomato sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 400 degrees. Spray a bread pan with non-stick spray. I used a Rachael Ray meatloaf pan which has a perforated insert pan so that excess fat can drip down into the bigger pan. Or just use a regular bread pan.

2. Combine all the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl mixing with your hands. Don't overwork the mixture. Use as much or as little of the seasonings (garlic, salt, pepper, fresh parsley, italian) as you want.  Place half of the mixture into the pan. Form a well in the middle of the pan for the filling to go. Like a canoe.

3. Chop the fresh spinach and saute it for a couple of minutes in a little bit of olive oil. Drain the liquid out of the cooked spinach (you can also use the frozen chopped spinach - just thaw and then drain off the liquid). Finely dice the mushroom, onion, peppers, and parsley (I put it all in the food processor to get it very fine). Add to the spinach in the pan and cook for a couple of minutes over low heat.

4. Add half of the mixture into the well of the meatloaf. Then add in the feta cheese. Top the cheese with the remaining veggie mixture. Then add the remaining half of the meatloaf mixture.

5. Top the entire meatloaf with the can of tomato sauce.

6. Bake for 55 minutes. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Slice and enjoy.

The web site says to add a pan of water on a rack below the meatloaf to help prevent cracking. I just added a little bit of water into the bottom pan of the meatloaf pan. And that worked for me.