Baked Ziti

Ingredients

1 lb ziti pasta
2 cups spaghetti sauce (Homemade or store bought.)
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (Divided into 2 portions - 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup.)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350* F.
2. Boil ziti pasta until tender. Meanwhile, lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
3. Drain pasta.
4. Mix together pasta, spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, and spices. Stir well to combine.
5. Spread the mixture into the pre-greased baking dish.
6. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese across the top of the dish.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Tips

I used store bought spaghetti sauce for this - a four cheese blend.

Pecan Pie

Ingredients

8 oz pecan halves
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
1 c dark Karo (corn) syrup
1 c dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 deep dish pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350* F.
2. Melt 2 tbsp butter.
3. Toss pecans with 2 tbsp melted butter and salt. Spread out across a baking sheet.
4. Roast for 5 minutes.
5. Remove pecans from oven.
6. Melt remaining 2 tbsp butter.
7. Mix together Karo, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and melted butter. Stir in pecans.
8. Pour mix into pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes until crust and pecans have browned.
9. Let cool on counter top until room temperature. Refrigerate before serving to fully chill.

Potato Soup

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
1/3 c diced onions
1/4 c diced celery
1/4 c diced green bell pepper
1 medium carrot, cleaned/peeled and finely diced
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp dried oregano
5 c potatoes, diced
1 quart chicken stock
2 cups water

Directions

1. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.
2. Saute onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and carrots in butter until they begin to soften.
3. Add seasonings and stir to combine. Add potatoes.
4. Add stock and water. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and let simmer until potatoes soften.
6. Serve hot. Reheats well.

Tips
For a creamy version, use milk or cream instead of water.
For a vegetarian version, use vegetable stock instead of chicken.
For a vegan version, use 1-2 tsp olive oil instead of butter and substitute vegetable stock for chicken.

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

3 cups black bean and corn salsa

1 pound ground turkey meat

1 cup rice

6 bell peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup diced bell pepper

¼ cup diced onion

1 can mixed diced tomatoes and green chilies

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

3 tsp olive oil

shredded cheddar cheese, if desired

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1.   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers. Remove the ribs and seeds from inside. 
3. Rub the insides of the peppers with 1-2 spoons of olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Put in a baking dish in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
4. Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Saute the onions, garlic, and diced bell pepper. I get the diced bell pepper for this from the tops I cut off of the 6 peppers.
5. Add the turkey to the pan and brown.
6. Add salsa and canned tomatoes and chilies to turkey mixture. Stir to combine. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
7. Add cooked rice and Greek yogurt to turkey mixture. Stir to combine.
8. Divide the mixture evenly between the 6 empty bell peppers. Bake for 20 minutes.
9. Remove peppers from oven. Top, if desired, with cheddar cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes.
10. Serve hot with sides of additional salsa or Greek yogurt, if you want. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tips

The 6 bell peppers I made were really full - overflowing, in fact. There is probably enough here to decently fill 7-8 bell peppers if you so choose. 

You can use sour cream instead of plain Greek yogurt, any color bell peppers, and beef or sausage instead of turkey, if you want.. You can also use store bought or homemade salsa. Leave out the meat entirely for a vegetarian version. You can also substitute black beans for the meat. Leave the cheese and yogurt out for a non-dairy or vegan version.

Kale Chips

Ingredients

10 cups of chopped kale, stems removed

4 tsp olive oil

½ to 1 tsp salt

½ to 1 tsp Tony Cachere’s Creole seasoning, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Remove stems from kale.
3. Combine olive oil and seasonings.
4. Toss kale with olive oil and seasoning mixture to coat. Make sure the seasoning is evenly distributed. You can do this in a bowl or in two large Ziploc bags.
5. Bake leaves in a baking dish for 20-30 minutes or until they darken and get crunchy, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

Tips
1.       Store in an airtight container.
2.       The kale shrinks a lot during the cooking process. You will get around 2-3 cups.

3.    You can use more or less salt, to taste.

Recipe Review: Todd Wilbur's Red Lobster Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

Good Morning America has Todd Wilbur's version of the Red Lobster Cheddar Garlic Biscuit recipe on on their website. Mine ended up looking pretty much nothing like their picture, but they taste pretty close to the Red Lobster version and are delicious. I did tweak the ingredients. I preheated the oven to and baked the biscuits at 375 degrees instead of 400 degrees. Here's what I used:

Biscuit Ingredients
2 1/4 c Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix
1/4 c unbleached AP flour
3/4 c skim milk
4 tbsp cold butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 c fat-free Kraft shredded cheddar

Biscuit Topping Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder

I mixed the ingredients largely as per the original directions, but I used a fork instead of doing it by hand. I baked them for about 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them - they burn quickly!

Once you pull them out of the oven, melt 2 tbsp of butter (I just did this in the microwave). Then stir in the parsley and garlic. Stir it well or the garlic will end up in a big clump at the bottom. Drizzle or brush it over the biscuits.

Daube Spaghetti

My own attempt on a family favorite. This makes a big batch. Plenty for eating and plenty for freezing.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 c diced onion
1 c diced green bell pepper
1 c diced celery
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 lb beef roast
4 c crushed tomatoes
4 c diced tomatoes
2 c tomato paste
2 c beef broth
4 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's seasoning
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

cooked pasta or rice

Directions

1. Pre-heat your crock-pot to high. It sounds weird, I know, but I find that pre-heating the crock-pot helps my dishes.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic to oil and saute until soft, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
3. Put onion mix into crock pot. Add tomato paste, beef broth, and crushed and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine. You can add up to 4 more cups of crushed tomatoes if you want a thinner sauce.
4. Slice roast into smaller chunks. Brown outside of roast pieces in olive oil left in heated skillet. Transfer to crock-pot.
5. In a small bowl or Tupperware container, mix together seasonings (sugar, salt, black pepper, Tony Chachere's, parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon). Stir seasoning mix into sauce in crock-pot. Make sure the pieces of roast are covered by the tomato mixture.
6. Cover and let the mixture cook on high for 7-8 hours.
7. Remove roast pieces from mixture and shred or chop. If you're shredding it, you can put the pieces into a Kitchen Aid mixer and run it with the paddle attachment (the one you would use to mix cookie dough) for about a minute. This will shred the mixture easily. Return beef to tomato mixture and stir to combine.
8. Serve hot over cooked pasta or, if preferred, rice.

Lemon Orzo Spinach Chicken Soup

I had some of Panera's Lemon Orzo Chicken soup the other day and it was delicious. Since I can't realistically go over there every day for it, I decided to make my own. It turned out quite tasty.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 c celery, chopped fine
1 c carrots, chopped fine
1 c onions, chopped fine
1 tbsp garlic, minced
8 c chicken broth
4 c water
1 c orzo
8 oz chicken, diced
4 c fresh spinach
1/4 c lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Saute onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil until softened.
2. Add broth, water, and spices to sauteed vegetables.
3. Add orzo and chicken to soup. Bring to a boil.
4. After the soup is brought to a boil, reduce the heat.
5. Add lemon juice to soup and let simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Add spinach to soup and stir. Let spinach wilt.
6. Serve hot.

Tips
For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth and eliminate the chicken.

Recipe Reviews: Alton Brown's Southern Biscuits

I thought it would be good to have a space to post links to and notes on other people's recipes I try. I'll post links to the original recipes, notes on any tweaks or adjustments I made, and, where I can, pictures of the final result.

First up, Alton Brown's Southern Biscuit Recipe. This is probably my favorite biscuit recipe. I make it regularly and serve them with all sorts of toppings: butter, honey, homemade apple butter, homemade berry jam, etc. They even make great components to homemade chicken biscuits! Usually when I make them I make a double batch and I've made a few changes based on what I usually have in the house. So, when I make them, I use:

4 c unbleached AP flour
8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp butter (cold!)
2 c skim milk or 2 c skim milk minus 2 tbsp, plus 2 tbsp white vinegar

I've also made these successfully with soy milk and a non-dairy butter substitute. They don't get as flaky and fluffy, but they are still tasty. 

Then I just follow Alton's instructions. I usually cut out the biscuits with a drinking glass and that works just fine if you don't have a biscuit cutter. They always come out delicious!

Spicy Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients

2 cups frozen Brussel sprouts

2 tsp water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's seasoning mix

1 tsp olive oil

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

2. Put frozen Brussel sprouts in a microwave safe container with water. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

3. Cut Brussel sprouts in half, if desired.

4. Toss Brussel sprouts with salt, pepper, seasoning, and olive oil. 

5. Spread sprouts across a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly. 

6. Serve hot.

Tips

You can use fresh Brussel sprouts as well. Feel free to skip the steaming step with fresh sprouts.

Use more or less Tony Chachere's and black pepper to make the sprouts more or less spicy. 

Sauteed Spinach with Turkey Bacon

Ingredients


3 slices thin cut turkey bacon
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
8 cups fresh spinach
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp olive oil

Directions 


1. Cook turkey bacon. Chop into smaller pieces. Set aside.
2. Squeeze lemon juice. Set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
4. Put spinach in pan and stir.
5. As the spinach begins to wilt, add in lemon juice, bacon, and red pepper flakes (add more or less, depending on how spicy you want this).
6. Continue to stir until spinach is wilted.
7. Serve hot.

French Toast

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 pieces of wheat bread
2 tsp butter
maple syrup or agave, optional
powdered sugar, optional
strawberries, optional

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Mix together eggs and milk until well blended.
3. Stir in cinnamon and brown sugar.
4. Soak bread in egg mixture for about a minute on each side (or longer, if desired) and place in skillet to cook. Brown the bottom side of the bread (the time needed varies between stoves and pans, but this shouldn't take long).
5. Flip the bread over to brown the other side.
6. Serve hot, topped with any combination of butter, maple or agave syrup, strawberries, powdered sugar, as desired.

Pineapple Berry Banana Smoothie

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 medium bananas
1 1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1 cup blackberries OR blueberries
1 cup V8 açaí mixed berry juice

Directions

1. Chop larger fruits up into smaller pieces.
2. Put all the ingredients in the blender.
3. Blend until smooth.

Tips

You can buy pre-frozen berries, but I find it pretty easy to freeze my own. I spread a piece of wax paper across a cookie sheet, then spread the berries across it and pop the sheet in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Then I just toss all the berries in a Ziploc bag to store them in the freezer.

Crockpot Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients: Vegan Option
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
3 cups red beans (canned with liquid)
1-3 tsp Cajun seasoning (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp file powder
1-2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 – 1 tsp hot sauce, if desired
2 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp cold water
cooked rice to serve

Ingredients: Meat Option
(Pictured Here)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
3 cups red beans (canned with liquid)
1-3 tsp Cajun seasoning (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp file powder
3/4 lb chicken or pork Andouille sausage, sliced
1-2 cups chicken broth
1/2 – 1 tsp hot sauce, if desired
2 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp cold water
cooked rice to serve

Directions
1. Begin to heat up your crockpot so you aren't putting the beans into a cold dish. Heat up the olive oil in a saute pan. Saute onion, bell pepper and celery until they begin to soften.
2. Put beans in the crockpot. Add broth to make sure the beans are covered with liquid.
3. Once the onion, bell pepper, and celery are softened, add them to the crockpot. Add seasonings (and the hot sauce if you want it) and stir well.
4. If you are making the sausage version, toss your sausage in the same pan you cooked the onions in until they start to brown. Then add the sausage to the crockpot.
5. Cook on high for 5-6 hours.
6. Put the corn starch into a jar or Tupperware container with a tight lid. Add 4 tablespoons of cold water. Shake to combine. Then add in 3-4 tablespoons of the hot liquid from the beans and shake again. This will help prevent clumps.
7. Add the corn starch mixture to the crockpot and stir to combine. Let thicken until the mixture is a the consistency you want it (a thicker mix will need to cook for a bit longer).
8. As the mixture is thickening, prepare the rice. Serve the red beans over rice.

Tips
1. You can use re-hydrated dried beans if you want, although you may need to add more liquid to the crockpot.
2. You can actually cook this over low heat on the stove as well.
3. This does have a bit of a kick to it with the hot sauce, so be careful if you're not a fan of spicy foods.
4. If you're having trouble finding chicken Andouille sausage, know that you may be able to find miniature ones in the refrigerated meat section of your store. That's what I used here. Yes, sausage purists, I know it isn't pork. It is still delicious.

Blood Orange Banana Berry Smoothie

(Serves 2)

Ingredients
2 medium bananas
1 blood orange
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen blackberries
1 cup açaí berry juice

Directions
1. Chop bananas up into smaller pieces. Peel and chop the blood orange segments into smaller pieces, making sure to remove any seeds.
2. Blend.
3. Enjoy.

Tips
You can buy pre-frozen blueberries and blackberries, but I find it pretty easy to freeze my own. I spread a piece of wax paper across a cookie sheet, then spread the berries across it and pop the sheet in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Then I just toss all the berries in a Ziploc bag to store them in the freezer.

Oven Baked Purple Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients
1 pound purple sweet potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil




Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400* F.
2. Peel potatoes.
3. Slice potatoes into layers, then slice those into strips. You can make them as thick or as thin as you want, but know that thicker slices will need longer in the oven.
4. Put the potato strips into a reusable container with a lid or a Ziploc bag with the oil and seasonings. Shake them to coat.
5. Spread the potato strips across a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Flip the potato strips and return to the oven to bake for at least 10-15 more minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and eat hot.

Tips
1. Bake the potatoes for longer for crunchier potatoes or deep fry them.
2. I cover my cookie sheet with foil for an easier clean up.

Baked Chicken

Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast tenders
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp cumin

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400* F.
2. In a bowl, toss chicken with oil and seasonings.
3. Lay tenders flat on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Tips
You can also do this with full chicken breasts, but you will need to bake them longer on each side.

Salsa Rice

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic1/2 c diced onion
1/2 c diced bell pepper
1/2 c corn
1 c sliced mushrooms
1/2 c diced tomato
1/2 c tomato paste
1/4 c mild red salsa
1/4 c salsa verde
1 1/2 c cooked shredded chicken
1 1/2 c cooked rice
1-2 tsp salt, to taste
Directions1. Saute garlic, onions, and bell pepper in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat until softened.
2. Add corn, mushrooms, and tomato. Saute for a few minutes until the mushrooms start to soften.
3. Stir in tomato paste and salsa.
4. Stir in chicken. Saute for a few minutes to heat up the chicken.
5. Mix in rice and salt. Saute for a few minutes to heat the rice.
Tips1. I used cooked rice while it was still hot, so it took less time to heat it up in the mix. I cooked it in a mix of chicken stock and water.
2. I used cooked shredded chicken that was leftover from tacos the previous day. To make the chicken originally, I cooked 1 – 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast meat (you can also use dark meat for this) with a large jar of salsa verde in a crock pot for 4 hours on high (you can also do it for a longer period on low heat). We then shredded the chicken with forks.
3. Feel free to mix up some of the vegetables if you want. I find this as an excellent way to use leftover bits – for me the tomatoes, chicken, and salsas were left over from tacos, the mushrooms and tomato paste from spaghetti, the corn was leftover from another dinner.
4. Leave the chicken and chicken stock out and this is still tasty! Mmmm...vegetables.

General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb chicken, cut into cubes1 – 1 1/2 c cornstarch
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 tbsp rice vinegar
4 tbsp Pinot Grigio
7 tbsp soy sauce
6 tbsp white sugar
4 tbsp cornstarch
5 dried red chile peppers
2 tsp olive oil
2-4 cups broccoli
water for steaming broccoli
vegetable oil for frying chicken

Directions
1. Pour oil into a pan and start heating it up.
2. Mix together 1 – 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch, salt, and pepper on a plate.
3. Dip chicken in egg, then in cornstarch to coat. Place gently in oil to fry.
4. As the chicken begins to turn a light golden brown color, remove it from the oil and place on a paper-towel or brown paper covered plate to drain a bit. It won't get as dark as it would if you fried it with flour.
5. While your chicken is frying, steam your broccoli (in a pan on the stove or in the microwave if you don't have a steamer).
6. Whisk together rice vinegar, white wine, soy sauce, white sugar, and 4 tablespoons cornstarch. Set aside.
7. After the chicken is fried, in a separate pan heat up olive oil and add the chiles into it. Then add the chicken to the pan and stir.
8. Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir to coat. Add the broccoli and keep stirring. The sauce will start to thicken quickly.
9. Serve over rice, if desired.

Tips
5 chile peppers sounds like a lot, but it actually makes a pretty mild version. If you want it spicy, add more.
This makes a pretty big batch, so there is plenty for leftovers and lunch the next day!

French Onion Soup

Ingredients
3-5 c sliced onion
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1-2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white sugar
1 c Pinot Grigio
8-10 c beef broth

1/2 lb cubed stale bread
1/4 c melted butter or 2-3 tbsp olive oil

cheese (Swiss, Gruyere, Mozzarella)

Directions
1. Slice the onions thin. You can use a knife for this, but I found a mandoline slicer made it easier.
2. Melt the butter in a large pan or skillet.
3. Add onions to butter and stir. Once the onions start to soften, add the garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and sugar.
4. Saute the onions until they are soft and start to brown.
5. Stir the wine and broth together in a crock pot set on high. Gently add the onion mixture and stir to combine.
6. Let everything cook together in the crock pot for 4-6 hours.
7. At some point while the soup is cooking, preheat the oven to 350*F.
8. Toss the cubed bread in the melted butter or olive oil. Spread across a cookie sheet and bake at 350*F until brown (about 15 minutes).
8. Remove croutons from the oven and set aside to cool.
9. When you're ready for soup, put some of the soup into an oven-safe dish. You can do this in a larger dish for multiple people or in individual serving dishes (small souffle dishes work great). Put some of the croutons on top, then cover with cheese. Place into the oven at 350*F until the cheese melts.
10. Serve hot.

Tips
1. You can use pre-made croutons for this, if you so choose.
2. If you use shredded cheese, it melts pretty well on its own, if you want to skip the oven step. If you use slices, I'd recommend the oven.
3. You can use all beef broth or a mix of beef and chicken. I prefer all beef broth. You can use a little more or a little less, depending on how much broth you prefer in a soup like this.
4. How many cups of onions you use depends on, well, how much you like onions. I tend to use the full 5 cups, but it is still perfectly tasty with 3-4 cups.
5. If you want, toss in some seasonings with the croutons. I prefer plain for something like this, but there are a lot of seasonings that work well on them in general – garlic salt, oregano, rosemary, etc.
6. You can also just let this simmer in a pot on the stove for several hours or let it cook all day on low on the crock pot.