Parmesan Mushroom Pasta

Dinner

Ingredients

1. 16 oz. fettuccine
2. 1/4 cup unsalted butter
3. 1/2 c. frozen chopped onion
4. 12 oz. fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
5. 3 T. chicken broth
6. 1/2 tsp. salt
7. 1/2 c. half-and-half
8. 1/4 tsp. black pepper
9. 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
10. 2 T. chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
2. Drain pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and toss, then place in a large serving dish. Set aside.
3. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over low heat.
4. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 4 minutes.
5. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 4 minutes.
6. Add the broth and salt to the mushroom mixture; increase heat to medium-high.
7. Stir frequently until the liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes.
8. Reduce heat to low.
9. Add the half-and-half and pepper.
10. Cook, stirring frequently, until just heated through, about 1 minute longer.
11. Spoon the mushroom mixture over the pasta.
12. Toss to coat.
13. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and parsley.
14. Serve immediately.

Rustic Panzanella Salad

Ingredients

1. 1 loaf (16 oz.) Italian bread
2. 2/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3. 1 tsp. garlic salt, divided
4. 1 tsp. coars ground black pepper, divided
5. 1/4 c. red-wine vinegar
6. 1 T. country-style Dijon-style mustard
7. 6 cups baby spinach leaves
8. 1 can (19 oz.) fava beans, rinsed and drained
9. 8 oz. cherry tomatoes
10. 2 stalks celery, chopped
11. 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
12. 1/2 medium red onion, sliced1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
13. 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and put in large bowl.
3. Combine 3 T. oil, 1/2 tsp. garlic salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a small bowl and mix well.
4. Drizzle oil mixture over bread cubes and toss to coat.
5. Spread the coated bread cubes in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet.
6. Bake until the bread is lightly toasted and golden, about 9-15 mins.
7. Combine the remaining oil, garlic salt and pepper, the vinegar and mustard in a small bowl. Mix well.
8. Place the bread cubes, spinach, beans, tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, onion and mint in a large serving bowl.
9. Add the dressing and toss to coat.
10. Let stand for 30 minutes.
11. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Spinach/Carrot Brownies

Spinach and carrots in brownies? Sounds gross, but is remarkably good!

Ingredients

1. 3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
2. 1/2 c. carrot puree
3. 1/2 c. spinach puree
4. 1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
5. 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
6. 2 T. trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
7. 2 tsp. vanilla
8. 2 large egg whites
9. 3/4 c. oat flour or all-purpose flour
10. 1/2 tsp. baking powder
11. 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray
3. Melt the chocolate in double boiler, over low flame, or in microwave (according to package directions)
4. In a large (deep) bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa, margarine and vanilla. Whisk 1-2 mins, or until smooth and creamy.
5. Whisk in egg whites
6. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt with a wooden spoon.
7. Pour batter into pan.
8. Bake 35-40 mins, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Cook completely before cutting.

French Toast Sticks

We made this for a freezer meal and BJ and I fell in love with the recipe. It is SO GOOD. We've made it several times since then and it rarely makes it into the freezer.

Ingredients:

10 slices thick-cut bread
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Cut the thick bread slices into thirds.
• Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl, beat well to combine.
• Dip bread sticks into the egg mixture one at a time, and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
• Bake in a 350º oven for about 30 minutes.
• Flip the sticks over halfway through baking time to crisp both sides.
• To freeze, allow to cool completely before wrapping well in a freezer bag.
• To serve: pop in a 350 oven for about 8 minutes to refresh. Alternatively, they can be reheated in a microwave for a minute or two, but they will lose their crispness.

Recipe courtesy of Once a Month Mom and Erika at tummytreasure.com

Mozzarella Stuffed Red Peppers

This is one of BJ's favorite dishes. On a scale of 1-10, he once ranked it as a 9.5. That's equivalent to Cafe Rio, folks. (I'm not quite as of fond of it, though, so it doesn't get made often. But it's still good.)

Ingredients:

4 red bell peppers

3 T. olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/4 c. cherry tomatoes* (from a 1-pint container)

4 1/2 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed*

1/4 c. finely shredded fresh basil

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup prepared pesto sauce (if you can't find it prepared, look for a mix in with the gravy mixes)

1 T. lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 475.
2. Spray a small roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. (A 9x9 or smaller. You'll want your peppers to be able to stand up in it. You don't want it too big else they fall over.)
3. Slice the tops off the peppers (keep these!) and deseed. Stand them upright in the prepared pan. If needed, trim the bottom of the peppers so that they sit flat.
4. Bake 20 minutes, or until softened.
5. Meanwhile, place bell pepper tops on a baking sheet.
6. Combine garlic and 1 T. oil in a medium bowl.
7. Toss the tomatoes in the garlic mixture and place on baking sheet with the pepper tops.
8. Bake next to the pepper bases for the last 10 minutes of their baking time.
9. Take peppers and tomatoes out of oven. (Do not turn off oven!)
10. Put tomatoes in a large bowl with the mozzarella cubes, basil, salt and pepper.
11. Stir until combined.
12. Spoon tomato mixture into peppers and replace tops.
13. Put peppers back into oven until the cheese has just melted, about 5 minutes. (You can turn off the oven after this.)
14. Meanwhile, combine the pesto sauce, lemon juice and 2 T. olive oil in a small bowl.
15. Transfer peppers to a serving platter.
16. Drizzle with pesto sauce.
17. Serve hot and enjoy.

*I find these measurements to be an estimate. If you have larger peppers, you'll need a bit more to fill them up. If you want to add more, go for it.

Recipe based off Great American Recipes: Easy Everyday Cooking

Yellow Squash Mac 'n Cheese

This is a great way to sneak veggies into your kids' dinner.



Ingredients:

2 c. macaroni
1/3 c. magic mix
1/2 c. water
1 c. yellow squash puree*
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. paprika

1. Boil macaroni according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, combine magic mix and water in saucepan. Whisk rapidly over medium heat until it starts to bubble and thicken. (If you don't keep whisking, your flour will start to cook and you'll get chunks.)
3. Add squash puree, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and seasonings.
4. Stir until the sauce is smooth and cheeses are melted.
5. Stir in macaroni and serve warm. (You could also stir in diced tomatoes.)

*Yellow squash is, as my aunt calls, yellow zucchini. To puree it, cook it by either steaming it (healthier) or boiling it. When it's tender, stick it in a blender and puree it.

In other funtimes, if you serve with beets, you can write your name on your plate with the corner of it.

Recipe from Everyday Food Storage.

Magic Mix

This recipe is a base for many other recipes. I found it on the blog Everyday Food Storage and she uses it in many of her other recipes that I'm trying out. So you'll probably see it in some of the recipes I post on here.

Ingredients:

2 1/3 c. powdered milk*

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. (2 sticks) room-temperature butter or margarine (not spread!)

1. Combine powdered milk, flour and butter in a large bowl. (I highly recommend a KitchenAid or the like. Use the beater attachment. Looks like a giant whisk.)
2. Mix until it has the same texture as cornmeal. (Start slow and build up speed lest you end up with powder all over your kitchen.)
3. Keep mix tightly covered in the fridge.

*This is for non-instant powdered milk. It's the stuff you can get at places such as the LDS canneries. If you use instant powdered milk like you get at the grocery store, you'll need to double the amount of powdered milk. You can tell the difference because non-instant has the same texture as flour whereas instant powdered milk are in tiny little balls.

Recipe from Everyday Food Storage