posted by Nina on Feb 17
My kids like lasagna and I thought maybe they’d like it in a little muffin cup. These are super easy to make and are easy to heat up if you have leftovers, too.
Ingredients:
2 packages plain or buttermilk biscuits
1 jar pasta sauce, divided
1 lb Italian sausage
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
Ricotta cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook Italian sausage in a pan over medium heat.
Spray muffin pan.
Press one biscuit into each muffin cup, pressing around the edges forming a cup.
Mix sausage, cheese, and 1/2 cup pasta sauce in a mixing bowl.
Place a spoonful of the sausage/cheese mixture in each muffin cup and
top with a small dollop of ricotta cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Serve with pasta sauce on the side for dipping.
What did the family think? These went over VERY well. I think our oldest went back for thirds.
Where did this recipe come from? Spark Recipes
posted by Nina on Feb 4
This is something I learned how to make in college. I would like to credit one of my roommates for introducing me to this, but neither one of them remembers making it. Oh well, it is good, cheap, warm and yummy and sometimes that is just the kind of dip you’re looking for.
Ingredients:
1 can refried beans
8 oz. jar Cheez Whiz
a few dashes of Tobasco sauce (to taste)
Tortilla chips
Instructions:
Put first two ingredients in a pot over medium heat. Stir. Take off heat when warmed through. Add Tobasco; stir again.
Serve with tortilla chips.
What did the family think? I used to make this for my step-dad all the time when I would come home from college. He LOVED it!
Where did this recipe come from? One of my lovely college roommates
photo from Wikipedia
posted by Nina on Feb 2
This recipe is from The Biggest Loser. I have never personally watched the show, but it seems like they make some pretty good pancakes. 
Ingredients:
6 egg whites
1 cup rolled oats, dry
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions:
In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.
Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
For each pancake pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Flip when they start to bubble. Cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batches, spraying the griddle as needed.
We had these with eggs, sausage and fruit salad.
What did the family think? I thought these turned out great. I put a little extra cinnamon in them, so they were great with butter and syrup on them. Everyone else at the table gobbled them down, too.
Did I change anything? Just a teensy bit more cinnamon was added.
Where did this recipe come from? The Biggest Loser
photo from Goop
posted by Nina on Feb 1
This turned out SO yummy…I loved the cranberries in this! I also thought this might make the perfect Valentine’s dinner with the pinkish/reddish cranberries.
Ingredients:
6 pork chops
2 cups frozen cranberries
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
water as needed
Instructions:
In a skillet, brown chops slowly in oil; drain.
Add cranberries, sugar, salt and pepper to chops with 1/2 cup water to start.
Bring to boil; reduce heat*. Simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes or until tender but not dry. Add water if necessary to keep chops from drying out.
*Note: It says reduce heat. That means DON’T LET IT BOIL OVER. I made this mistake and let me just say that the sugary cranberry mess left all over my cooktop was a bear to clean up. Sugar caramelizes…yep, it was bad. It smelled like burnt marshmallows.
We had this with risotto and buttery French green beans.
What did the family think? Everybody liked it!!!!
Where did this recipe come from? Allrecipes
photo from Bon Appetit
posted by Nina on Jan 30
I know your are thinking to yourself…goodness gracious, does she eat nothing but granola and smoothies? I know there’s been a lot of the two on MommaCooks lately, but aren’t granola and smoothies yummy? Wait, what if we could combine the two? Breakfast nirvana!
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup granola
4 tbsp wheat germ
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup FROZEN blueberries
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse on the ice crush option until the berries are mostly blended, then put on puree for about 2 minutes or until smooth.
What did the family think? I am the only one who has had this one so far, but I think they’ll like it. The kids have started having smoothies for their bedtime snack, so I might have to introduce this one tonight.
Did I change anything? No, but I think the next time I make this one I might add half a banana or maybe a whole banana so that it’s thicker.
Where did this recipe come from? SparkRecipes
photo from The Everyday Veggie
posted by Nina on Jan 18
STOP! Don’t give up on this smoothie just because it has spinach in it. I PROMISE you that you will not only not see the spinach once you get it all blended up, but you won’t taste it either and with a combo of all of these powerhouse foods in one smoothie you KNOW it’s going to be good for you. What else is awesome is that you can keep some frozen spinach and frozen blueberries on hand so that you can make this anytime. This is so good for you and it tastes good too. Try it, just once for me, pretty please.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk (soy, skim…whatever you’ve got)
1/2 cup fresh spinach (small handful, sub 1/8-1/4 cup frozen)
1 banana
1 teaspoon flax seed meal
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse on the ice crush option until the berries are mostly blended, then put on puree for about 2 minutes or until smooth.
What did the family think? I am the only one who has had this, but it was SO good! I know the boys will like it too if I don’t tell them about the spinach because who really wants to drink spinach.
Where did this recipe come from? Food.com
photo from Brandy Gerard
posted by Nina on Jan 16
We eat a LOT of salad around here because it’s the only veggie that everyone in our house will eat without a whole lotta crying and whining. Last week our oldest was begging for a different veggie, so he was very happy to find these on his plate last night.
Ingredients:
1 lemon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 lb green beans, trimmed (frozen or fresh)
Instructions:
Zest the lemon into a large bowl using a fine grater or zester. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze in the juice from one half. Add in the extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.
Put a pan of water on to boil. Boil beans until tender. Drain well, then put the cooked beans into the bowl with your dressing and toss everything together, making sure all the beans get coated.
We had this with salmon, a baguette and fruit salad.
What did the family think? 3/4 of us liked them.
Where did this recipe come from? jamieoliver.com
posted by Nina on Jan 2
The other day my good friend, Candy, had said that she was going to make baked spaghetti and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. That just sounded so good to me, so I went searching for a baked spaghetti recipe. This is an adapted version of Paula Deen’s baked spaghetti.
Ingredients:
4 cups pasta sauce
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, turkey or chicken
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup grated Monterey Jack
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
Heat pasta sauce over medium heat in a medium sauce pan.
Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until fully cooked, with no pink color remaining. Drain the fat from the meat, and then add the ground beef to the sauce.
Cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan with sauce/meat mixture. Add a layer of pasta and then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes.
Did I change anything? This recipe has been greatly simplified by using jarred pasta sauce.
What did the family think? They really liked it. I thought it might be a bit disappointing because I thought it might taste too much just like plain spaghetti, but it was different enough to be interesting.
Where did this recipe come from? adapted from Paula Deen
photo from about.com
posted by Nina on Dec 6
A little bit spicy, but it can definitely be tweaked so it’s not so spicy.
Ingredients:
4 teaspoons creole seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 salmon fillets (6 ounces each)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (I used dried.)
Instructions:
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first three ingredients. Add salmon; shake to coat.
Place salmon on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Broil 6 in. from the heat for 10-14 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with parsley.
Did I change anything? I left out the ground pepper that was in the original recipe.
What did the family think? Hubby and I liked it and it was a good departure from how I have been making salmon lately.
Where did this recipe come from? Taste of Home
Photo from Taste of Home
posted by Nina on Nov 9
I realize this is more of a dinner idea than a dinner recipe, but it was quick and easy and was perfect last night when I only had about 35 minutes to make dinner and get it on the table before I had to zip out the door to go to a meeting.
Ingredients:
Hoagie/hot dog or sub sandwich-type buns
Frozen Meatballs
1 jar pasta sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions:
Thaw frozen meatballs in the microwave.
While those are defrosting heat pasta sauce in a medium sauce pan until it begins to simmer and then turn down to low.
Put warmed up meatballs in the sauce and let them simmer for a few minutes.
Spoon meatballs and sauce into bun and sprinkle with cheese. (If meatballs are too big, you may need to cut them in half.)
Top with a sprinkle or two or three of cheese.
We had this with fruit salad and a green salad.
What did the family think? They loved it and I sent leftovers in lunches today.
Where did this recipe come from? Desperation on my part for a quick meal that everyone would eat.
