Speedy Italian Pasta and Meatballs

This recipe came way from a WomansDay.com email, and is incredibly tasty! Add to it that I only used one pot to prepare this low-fat meal, and it's a total winner.

Since the recipe calls for Italian salad dressing, which tends to be very acidic, I instead used half of an Italian dressing flavor packet to give all the taste, without the acid(and extra fat from the oil).

1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 lb mini rigatoni pasta (3 cups) (we used regular size rigatoni)

1 pkg (12 oz) ready-to-heat Italian turkey meatballs (thaw if frozen)

1 box (9 oz) frozen Italian green beans

1 pint grape tomatoes (halved) (we left these out)

3 Tbsp reduced-fat Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Bring broth and water to a boil in a large nonstick skillet. Stir in pasta, cover, reduce heat to medium-high and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in meatballs, green beans, tomatoes and Italian dressing; return to a boil.

3. Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes, stirring often, until pasta is tender and most of liquid is absorbed.

3. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Serve with more Parmesan.

 

Baked Potato Soup

A friend served this hearty soup to our bunco group when I lived in San Antonio. I asked her to send me the recipe more than two years ago, and just now made it! I can't believe I waited so long. It's so easy, and even better the second day! Thanks, Meredith!!

The most time consuming part of the soup is baking the potatoes. I peeled and cubed them first, then baked them and let them cool. At 6 p.m., I started preparing the soup, and by 6:30, dinner was on the table. Can't get any easier than that.

2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
7 cups milk
4 potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, diced
12 bacon slices, crisply cooked and crumbled
1 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz sour cream
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (we added a bit more to each bowl)

1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven. Stir in flour and whisk over medium heat until smooth.

2. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened.

3. Add potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

4. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 to 8 servings. Enjoy!

Chicken Pesto Pizza

This week has been a bit challenging with family matters, and so instead of selecting a new recipe to try, I made one of our favorites that my husband created after I stopped eating tomatoes (and tomato sauce) cold turkey. I love pizza, and this helped quench my taste for a good slice. We make it for friends and family all the time, and it's a crowd pleaser! The best part is when Monkey 1 helps "decorate the pizza" with all of the ingredients. ;)

Pillsbury or Boboli pizza dough
Rotisserie chicken, shredded
Refigerated pesto sauce
Spinach leaves
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

1. Place the dough on a cookie sheet or pizza pan, and spread pesto sauce. We usually only use half the container per crust.

2. Add the shredded chicken.

3. Add the spinach leaves.

4. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. We also usually add a touch of parmasan.

5. Bake according to dough directions, and enjoy!

Mou Shu Chicken

The kids loved this Betty Crocker recipe because I served it with thin pancakes. I loved it because they didn't care that they were eating vegetables! The recipe calls for preparing the chicken and vegetables first, but I'd suggest preparing the pancakes first and keep them warm until the chicken is ready so it doesn't dry out. Enjoy!

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 bag (16 oz) coleslaw mix
1 package (8 ounces) sliced mushrooms
2 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 tablespoon grated gingerroot
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce (we used more!)

Pancakes
1 1/4 cups Bisquick(r) mix
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
Green onions, chopped, if desired

1. Heat oil in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook coleslaw mix, mushrooms, chicken and gingerroot in oil, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender. Stir in hoisin sauce. Reduce heat; keep warm.

2. Stir Bisquick mix, milk and egg in medium bowl until blended. Stir in onions.

3. Lightly spray 10-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Pour less than 1/4 cup batter into skillet; rotate skillet to make a thin pankcake, 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Cook until bubbles break on surface; turn. Cook other side until golden brown. Keep warm while making remaining pancakes.

4. Spoon about 1/2 cup vegetable mixture onto each pancake; roll up.

Week 3: Gobble It Up Lasagna

I'm not quite sure exactly where I found this recipe -- it's been lying around since I printed it on Jan. 25, 2008! -- but think it comes from Ronzoni. Since this week is a bit crazy for us, and I had the day off, I decided to tackle week 3 a little early and try my first lasagna. I put it all together while Monkey 1 was watching a movie and Monkey 2 was napping, then put it in the fridge until about an hour before dinnertime. Prep time says 15 minutes, but it took me about 45 minutes to shred the chicken, boil and dry the noodles, and arrange it all. Although time-consuming, this recipe is easy -- and Monkey 1 declared it "Delicious!"

12 pieces lasagna

2 jars (about 16 oz. each) prepared Alfredo sauce (I mixed one garlic and one plain)
4 cups (1 lb.) chopped cooked turkey or chicken
5 cups (16 oz. package) frozen broccoli cuts
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
(Note: I garnished with a sprinkle of oregano)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees

2. Cook pasta according to package directions

3. In a 13x9x2-inch baking dish, spread 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce; place 4 pasta pieces lengthwise over sauce, overlapping edges.

4. Spread 1 cup sauce over pasta; place one-half turkey or chicken and one-half broccoli evenly over sauce. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup cheese.

5. Repeat layer, beginning with pasta.

6. Top with remaining 4 pasta pieces; spread remaining sauce on top.

7. Cover with foil; bake 40 minutes.

8. Remove foil; sprinkle with remaining cheese.

9. Bake 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

During dinner, I asked Bubba to rate this dish. He gave it a solid 4 out of 5 (only because he prefers a bit more spice and even added hot sauce to this one!).

Buon appetito!

Week 2: Winter White Burger

Even though we live in Phoenix, it can still be too chilly to barbecue burgers for dinner. The same old cheeseburgers also get a little, well, old. I found this recipe in the Dec. 2008 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray, and was most intrigued by the poached pears! I made a few minor changes to the recipe, and after two bites, Monkey 1 said, "This is yummy. Can we have it again?" That makes this one a do-over, for certain.

1 1/4 pounds ground turkey breast

4 scallions, white parts only, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
squirt of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of chopped basil (recipe calls for fresh thyme, which I plan to use next time)
Salt and pepper
1 ripe bartlett pear, cut lengthwise into 8 slices
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used some Pinot Grigio we had in the fridge)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sharp white cheddar cheese
Recipe calls for hot pepper or jalapeno jelly (since I can't do spicy, we used some Chokecherry jelly we received over the holidays)
4 extra-thin sandwich rounds (recipe calls for English muffins)

1. Combine the turkey, scallions, mustard, lemon juice (recipe calls for lemon peel) and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Shape into four equal sized patties.

2. In a small nonstick skillet, add the pear slices, wine, lemon juice and enough water to just cover the pear. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the pear is softened, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pear slices to a plate.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the turkey patties and cook, turning once, for 12 minutes. Top with the cheese, then pear slices, tent the pan with foil and cook on low until the cheese is melted (no more than 2 minutes).

4. Spread the jelly on each bread bottom, top with a patty and a bread top.

I served the burgers with sweet potato fries. There were no leftovers!

Week 1: Chicken Chili with Cornbread Dumplings

I kicked off my new year of new meal with this hearty, semi-homemade meal, mildly adapted from Betty Crocker. I love chili, but don't eat it because I haven't a found a good recipe that doesn't call for tomatoes. This one is tasty and smells really good, too.

Chili

3 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 1/2 cups water

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Frozen corn (to your liking)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Dumplings

1 1/3 cups Heart Healthy Bisquick(r) mix

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Heat chili ingredients over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly.

2. Meanwhile, stir dumpling ingredients in a medium bowl until soft dough forms.

3. Drop dough by 6 rounded spoonfuls onto simmering chili. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 13-15 minutes or until dumplings are dry. Dumplings will expand during cooking.

Note that 3 average sized chicken breasts, boiled and shredded, will yield about 3 cups of chicken. Or you can use one deli-roasted chicken to save even more time.

I omitted cumin from the dumplings to cut down on the spice factor. The dumplings need a little flavor, though. Add vanilla or some sugar. We also used kidney beans instead of navy beans, and regular corn instead of Mexicorn(r) so the color is a bit different than pictured.