Mmmm..Lasagna!

I have a wide variety of lasagnas I make.  Chicken lasagna, veggie lasagna, plus multiple meat lasagnas from different recipe books.  The time finally came for me to do my own thing..and we LOVED it!!!

Ingredients:
~2lb lean ground sausage
~1 small-medium onion, finely chopped
~1 red pepper, finely chopped
~1 1/2-2 jars of marinara sauce (depending on how chunky versus juicy you like it)
~3 cloves of garlic (or you can use garlic powder)
~1 box of oven-ready lasagna noodles
~2 cups shredded mozzarella
~cottage cheese (I get the largest container and use about 2/3 of it)
~spinach
~Italian seasoning
~salt and pepper

Directions:
~Brown the sausage, onion, and pepper.  If you are using minced garlic, add it now. Drain and rinse (you will want to rinse to get rid of as much grease as possible or else your lasagna is super greasy).

~Pour back in pan.  Add marinara sauce and sprinkle with salt and pepper (and the garlic powder if that's what you're using).

~In a bowl mix the cottage cheese with 2 tbsp Italian Seasoning (more if you like it), and sprinkle with more pepper and salt.
~To assemble lasagna, grease or spray with non-stick cooking spray a 9x13 pan.  Preheat to oven to 375.  Pour just enough meat mixture in the pan to barely cover it.  Layer with noodles, spinach, cottage cheese mixture, sprinkle with mozzarella. I did two layers like that.  I had a bit of meat left over so after the second layer I added the rest of the meat, a bit of the cottage cheese, then lots of mozzarella. 
~Bake, covered, at 375 for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and cook another 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling.  Let stand at least 15 minutes before cutting in order for it to thicken and hold together.  

We have tried LOTS of lasagna recipes and definitely have some favorites.  But, I have to admit, this was DELICIOUS!!!!  The kids ate tons, I enjoyed it, and Cory couldn't get enough of it!!  He said it was his favorite one!  Yuuumm!!  We ate it with a delicious green salad!  I hope you like it as much as we do!  Enjoy!

Have a happy day~Kasey

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Tuna cakes

Need a quick and easy lunch or dinner??  This recipe is perfect!!!  This recipe from the Biggest Loser, is for one person. (or one cake per person for three people)  Here's my version for our family of seven!

Ingredients:
4 cans of tuna
4 eggs 
1 green onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped (I do mine super small because I think it holds better than bigger chunks)
Sprinkle, or two, of garlic powder~OR~ 1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions:
1~Mix all ingredients together. Mix well to break up that egg!!
2~Shape the mixture into small balls, about a ping-pong ball size, then use your hand to smash them flat.
3~Pan fry (or use a griddle) over medium heat for 4 minutes per side.  If you aren't using a non-stick skillet, spray some olive oil spray on your pan for easy flipping.  

Add a side and serve it up!  We usually serve alongside a delicious green salad!

This is a family favorite, even my kids love it (while my husband wants to eat all of them)!!  Enjoy!!

Have a happy day~Kasey

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Clean eating pasta recipe!

This was dinner, for the whole family, on our clean eating day one!  

It's really easy!  I boiled 16 oz. of brown rice spiral noodles, then after I drained it, I added freshly diced tomatoes, a can of black beans (check to make sure there are no added ingredients, and we always use the low sodium ones), a dash of extra virgin olive oil, and oregano and basil herbs.  Mixed it all together and ate it!  

It was gone in minutes!  My kids ate it, and commented on loving it, and most had seconds and thirds!  The calories are REALLY low and the whole thing is clean and healthy!  It was a great meal!

 

Have a happy day~Kasey

 

 

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Hippie Loaf

I am not against vegetarian meals.  We often go without meat in our meals..but we don't do a lot of Vegan because we use milk and cheese.  I came across this Hippie Loaf and wanted to try it.  I followed this recipe exactly..except that I did not mince my carrots and I used soy sauce instead of tamari.  I didn't get a picture...but this one was a pretty big bust!!!  My husband ate it, but hated it.  All of my kids except one hated it...two sat for an hour just to eat a few bites, two ate it but hated it, and one ate two pieces.  I, myself, didn't hate it, and even ate the leftovers the next day.  But it was SO different!!!  My husband likes to tell everyone we ate, "veggie meatloaf" and everyone loves to point out that it is pretty ironic!!  :D  If you like beans and quinoa, and are into the vegetarian thing~you will probably love it.  If you don't~you won't!!! :D  

Have a happy day~Kasey

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Dinner for the missionaries...

We were having our church missionaries over for dinner.  I read our menu items for the next two weeks to my husband and he said, "enchiladas!"  So..that's what I made..for my first time ever..for other people!!  What was I thinking?!?!?  ;)  I opened up our Essential Mormon Cookbook that was given to us as a gift, and followed their recipe...a little bit!  I won't post their exact recipe since they don't have it published online, (and because, really, I changed a lot of it..) but I will give you my changed version of it..plus, I doubled it...some of it... :D

Ingredients: 

Chicken breasts
an 8 oz. container of sour cream
2 (7 oz.) cans of chopped green chilies
2 cups of chopped onions
2 tablespoons of butter
salt
2 (8 oz.) bags of shredded cheddar jack cheese
flour tortillas (normally we use wheat tortillas, but since I couldn't find the larger size, I got the regular, white ones)
28 oz. can of mild enchilada sauce ( of course you can use medium or hot if you want it warmer)

Directions:

~ I had two huge chicken breasts.  I sliced them up into kinda thick strips then grilled them on my grilling pan..about 4-6 minutes on each side.  Shred it.

~Combined shredded chicken, sour cream, and green chilies.  Mix well.

~Saute onions and butter until golden brown and translucent.  

~Add onion, 1 cup of cheese (or about half of one bag), and sprinkle salt to your desire, to the chicken mixture.  

~Spoon mixture into tortillas.

~Roll and place, sides touching, in a greased 9x13 pan (or pans).

~Pour enchilada sauce on, and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

~Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  

The original recipe was half of most of my stuff..and said it made 10 tortillas.  I got 17 total enchiladas out of the above recipe.  

I have to say~I was pleasantly pleasantly surprised!  We LOVED them!!!  My son didn't care for them much..but that's not surprising since he doesn't care for a lot of things.  The rest of us loved them though!!  Seriously~I couldn't take a picture because they were gone so quickly!  Yes..we actually did have leftovers, but my husband put them away before I got a picture.  

For dessert..another first!!!  I made a Moist Chocolate Cake AND icing from scratch..both my first time ever!!!!!  

Moist Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup water
3 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
2 cups flour (I use wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk (we have 1%)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

~In saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil.  Remove from heat.  (butter will not be completely melted yet)

~Place baking chocolate in a microwaveable bowl for one minute, then 30 second increments, stirring well between cooking times.  Add to butter/water mixture.  Butter will finish melting as you stir.

~In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and sat. Add chocolate mixture and beat well.

~In separate bowl, add sugar and eggs. Cream.

~Stir in vanilla and milk. Beat well.  Pour mixture into chocolate mixture. Beat well.  

~Pour into greased 9x13 inch pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  (I checked mine..and ended up cooking it 30 minutes)  

~TIP~when you are checking it...I always used a butter knife..don't.  Use a toothpick if you have one!! The knife makes a slightly larger hole/slice..and the homemade icing is wet until it settles and will seep down into the cake quite a bit if you have the larger holes! :D  

Chocolate Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

~In medium saucepan, bring butter and milk to a boil.  Remove from heat.  (again..butter won't be completely melted)

~Melt chocolate in the microwave, 1 minute, then 30 second increments as needed, stirring well between times.

~Pour chocolate into saucepan with butter and milk.  Mix.

~Pour mixture into a bowl.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat well.

The icing looks really wet and watery..but it sets perfectly once it's poured onto the cake!

It was delicious!!!!  My kids loved it..I enjoyed it.  The missionaries had seconds..my husband loved it..and he hates cake!!!  My firsts were sure not lasts this time!!! :D  

Have a happy day~Kasey

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