Category Archives: Easy

June 23, 2010 · 11:51 pm

Creamy Summer Squash Lasagna

Hubby found this recipe on-line and suggested I try it. The only problem is that he got the recipe from a British website so all of the measurements had to be converted (or just estimated guessed.)

Ingredients:
6-9 lasagna noodles
2 T olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
5 summer squash, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. ricotta
1 c. cheddar cheese
Jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cook noodles for about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drizzle with a little olive oil to keep noodles from sticking to each other.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook for three minutes. Add the garlic and squash and cook until the squash begins to soften. Remove from heat and add 2/3 c. ricotta and 1/2 c. cheddar cheese to the zucchini mixture.

In a large casserole dish, spoon half of the zucchini mixture into the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of pasta and then 1/2 the pasta sauce. Top that layer with the rest of the zucchini mixture, add pasta on top of that and then the rest of the pasta sauce. Top off the dish by placing blobs of ricotta cheese on top and then sprinkling the rest of the cheddar cheese on top of that.

Place in the oven on one of the higher racks for about ten minutes.

What did the family think? Everyone loved it. It was super yummy and pretty easy, too.

from BBC Good Food

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

June 20, 2010 · 11:43 pm

Peanut Butter Krispies

These are good as is…if you want to really go the extra mile, though, melt some chocolate and drizzle it over the top. Your taste buds will thank you.

Ingredients:
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1 T butter
10 1/2 oz. bag miniature marshmallows
6 c. Rice Krispy cereal
Cooking spray
3/4 c. peanut butter chips

Directions:
Combine the peanut butter and the butter in a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds or until mixture melts. Add marshmallows and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes or until mixture melts stirring every 30 seconds. Add cereal and stir well. Pat cereal into a 13×9-inch baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray.

Place peanut butter chips in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds or until chips begin to melt. Spoon melted chips into a small heavy duty Ziploc bag and seal it up. Snip a very tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Drizzle peanut butter chips over cereal mixture.

Did I change anything? The only thing I have done differently is that I have melted chocolate chips the same way the peanut butter chips were melted and added the chocolate drizzle in addition to the peanut butter chip drizzle. Yum!

What did the family think? I have never made these for my family. I have, however, made them for the neighbors at Christmas.

from Cooking Light

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

June 17, 2010 · 9:26 pm

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

This dish was awesome. I think I am going to just start making the salsa part of this recipe to have with tortilla chips. Yummo!!!

Ingredients:
Salt and pepper
1/4 tspn. cayenne pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 T fresh lime juice
1 Haas avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks

Directions:
In a small bowl combine 1 tspn. salt, 1/4 tspn. black pepper and cayenne; rub all over chicken.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until done, about 8 to 10 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine onion and lime juice. Set aside. Just before serving, fold avocado chunks into the onion mixture; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken topped with salsa.

Did I change anything? I ended making twice as much rub as the recipe above calls for. It wasn’t nearly enough for 4 chicken breasts. I also only used 1/2 of a red onion. The original recipe called for an entire red onion. I felt like 1/2 was almost too much.

What did the family think? Hubby and I could eat that avocado salsa all day long. Not only would it be scrumptious on its own, but it was fantastic on the chicken as well. The coolness of the avocado went along nicely with the spice of the chicken. The chicken was way too spicy for our oldest. The youngest loves spicy things, so he ate it even though he kept wiping off his tongue with his napkin.

We had this with leftover Spanish rice, watermelon and some tortilla chips.

from Everyday Food

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Mexican, Spicy

June 16, 2010 · 10:30 pm

Cajun Salmon Fillets

I found this recipe on-line. There were a few people who had commented that they thought this recipe would be better on a fish other than salmon. I listened to them and I think it was a mistake.

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tspn. paprika
3/4 tspn. pepper
1/2 tspn. dried mustard
1/2 tspn. dried oregano
1/2 tspn. chili powder
1 pinch cayenne
4 salmon fillets (single serving size)

Instructions:
Place salmon skin-side down on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil.

Combine oil and spices and spread on top of salmon fillets.

Grill on BBQ about 15-20 minutes or until done or bake at 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees until done.

Remove skin prior to serving.

Did I change anything? Like I said before, I didn’t use salmon and I think I should have. Also, if/when I make this again, I will definitely grill it. I think the flavor the grill would give it would go really well with the spices.

What did the family think? I should have used the salmon. 🙂

We had this with black beans, spanish rice and strawberries.

from recipezaar.com

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Filed under Easy, Fish, Lent

June 12, 2010 · 11:30 pm

Chocolate Black Bean Brownies

I made these tonight for my family. We have had these several times before and I have always hid the fact that they have black beans in them for fear of a revolt. Tonight though the kids watched me as I put the beans in with the brownie mix. They were a little confused at first, but they didn’t seem to mind that there were beans in their brownies when they were asking for seconds.

Ingredients:
1 box of brownie mix
15.5 oz. can black beans

Directions:
Preheat the oven to the temperature that is says on the brownie box.

Drain and rinse the beans.

Put the beans back in the can and fill the can to the top with water.

Dump the beans and water in a blender and puree.

In a large bowl, combine the beans and the brownie mix.

Pour mixture into an oiled 9×13 in baking dish.

Bake according to package directions.

What does the family think? They love them.

recipe from Weight Watchers

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

June 10, 2010 · 9:51 pm

Roasted Green Beans and Tomatoes

Holy schmoley these were good! We had these with hamburgers and watermelon tonight…a classic summertime dinner.

Ingredients:
1 lb. green beans, stem ends trimmed
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Put an empty rimmed baking sheet on an upper rack. (Not too high though.)

Coat the beans and tomatoes with the olive oil and season them with salt and pepper.

When the oven is ready, pour the beans and tomatoes on the hot baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until tender and caramelized.

What did the family think? Vegetables were not meant to taste this good. Wow! How could something this easy taste so good? How? Hubby and I could not get enough of these. Our oldest said the green beans tasted like french fries and proceeded to eat them with his hands as if they were french fries. Youngest said he couldn’t eat them because he has two loose teeth and the green beans would hurt his teeth. Whatever.

from Rachel Ray

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

June 5, 2010 · 10:30 pm

Cheesy Brunch Casserole

Breakfast for dinner, anyone?

Ingredients:
1 lb. turkey Italian sausage
5 cups herbed seasoned stuffing mix
Cooking spray
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 T. butter, melted
6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
2 c. milk
1/2 tspn. black pepper
16 oz. egg substitute

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Remove casings from sausage and cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain.

In a large bowl, combine stuffing and sausage and mix well.

Place stuffing mixture in a 13 x 9 casserole dish coated with cooking spray.

Drizzle stuffing mixture with broth and butter. Sprinkle with cheese.

Combine milk, pepper and egg substitute, stirring with a whisk. Pour milk mixture over stuffing mixture.

Bake 40 minutes at 325 degrees. Let stand five minutes before serving.

What did the family think? I made this for a Mother’s Day brunch and it was a hit with everyone.

from Cooking Light

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Filed under Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It

June 2, 2010 · 10:33 pm

Mexican Skillet Dinner

This dinner had to quickly evolve when I realized I didn’t have any rice left in the pantry that would be done in 20 minutes or less.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey, beef or chicken
1 cup onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 c. cooked rice
1 c. Mexican shredded cheese

Directions:
Make the rice according to the directions on the package.

In a large skillet, brown hamburger over medium-high heat. Add onions to the skillet as the hamburger is cooking.

When the hamburger is done cooking, drain the fat.

Add tomatoes and chili powder to hamburger. Heat through.

When the rice is done add it to the skillet. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for five minutes.

Spoon into individual bowls and top with cheese.

Did I change anything? Yes because I had no rice. So anything in the above recipe that mentions rice I didn’t do. Instead it ended up being more like a taco salad. We did have tortilla chips, so I spooned the meat and tomato mixture into bowls, topped it with cheese and then everyone crushed tortilla chips up into their bowls. Hey, it worked and no one went to bed hungry. 🙂

What did the family think? I thought this recipe needed more flavor. Maybe if I made it again I would use Rotel tomatoes instead of just diced tomatoes? It definitely needed more zip though. Hubby says he liked it. Our oldest liked it…I think the novelty of crushing up the chips helped. Our youngest even ate it without too much fuss.

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Filed under Easy, Mexican, Six Ingredients or Less

May 30, 2010 · 12:13 am

Piggy Pudding

With a name like Piggy Pudding what’s not to like? 🙂

Ingredients:
1 lb. breakfast sausage, crumbled
2-3 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
7.5 oz. box cornbread mix
Maple syrup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare cornbread batter according to package directions, but don’t bake it yet.

Cook sausage in a skillet until done. Drain fat.

Arrange sausage in a casserole dish. Place one layer of apples over the sausage.

Pour cornbread batter on top being sure to cover apples.

Bake for approx. 30 minutes or until cornbread is done.

Serve with maple syrup.

Did I change anything? The original recipe called for sausage links, but I made it with ground breakfast sausage. I am sure it is fine either way.

What did the family think? They actually liked it. Syrup was involved, what’s not to like?

from Mama, What’s for Dinner

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Filed under Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less

May 28, 2010 · 10:25 pm

Herbed Vegetable Chicken

I found this recipe written on a notecard among my recipe books. It is dated May 1, 1999 and is from my mother-in-law. I used to make this all the time when my hubby and I were first married.

Ingredients:
1 small onion
3 c. broccoli
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 tspn. basil
1 tspn. garlic salt
2 ice cubes
2 T butter
2 chicken breasts
Aluminum foil

Directions:
Preheat over to 450 degrees.

Rip off two fairly big rectangles of aluminum foil. All of the ingredients are going to go onto these sheets and then you are going to fold them up into little packets, so the aluminum foil has to be big enough for you to do that.

Place one chicken breast on each sheet of aluminum foil. Equally divide all of the ingredients between the two sheets of aluminum foil. Wrap them up and place them on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Be careful when you open the packets. Very hot steam will come out… I have burned my fingers more than once.

What does the family think? I have not made these in probably eight or nine years. It turns out very good though and is great with some rice….fairly quick and easy, too, and only a little clean-up.

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Filed under Chicken, Easy