Breaded Parmesan Zucchini

This was an attempt to get Matt to eat zucchini because I LOVE IT!

Breaded Parmesan Zucchini
found recipe here.

Ingredients
1 Zucchini
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bread crumbs
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Slice zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and add to skillet.
3. Cook for 8-10 min, stirring and flipping zucchini occasionally.
4. Remove skillet from stove, sprinkle zucchini with bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.
5. Place in oven, at 400 degrees, until cheese is melted.

It's green, so Matt was not a fan. :P
Me-loved it! :)

Cheesy Italian Meatloaf

Beef! It's what's for dinner!

Cheesy Italian Meatloaf
original recipe can be found here.


Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 packet onion soup mix
1/4-1/2 of an onion, chopped, depending on how "onion-y" you want it lol.
2 eggs
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup, plus some extra to top off the finished meatloaf
3/4 cup italian bread crumbs
1 tsp. italian seasoning


Directions
1. Add all ingredients to a bowl, and mix all together with your hands
2. Form mixture into 4 mini loafs or make several little meat patties, which is what I do. Why use several loaf pans when you can just use one big pan?
3. Place in baking pan and bake for an hour at 350. Drain juice from pan once or twice during cooking time.
4. Take out of oven, let sit for 5 min, top with ketchup :)

Shredded Chicken Tacos

YUM!


Shredded Chicken Tacos
found recipe here.


Ingredients
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (mine were pretty small, so I used 3)
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 cup salsa (I used Pace chunky mild salsa, but I think some black bean/corn salsa would be amazing with this! I might try that next time)
1 packet of taco seasoning (I bought a taco kit that included the seasoning packet and taco shells)
1 tsp. cumin
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp. chili powder (I used a little less than this)
Taco shells or tortillas
Favorite taco toppings :)


Directions
1. In a medium sauce pan, bring chicken breasts and tomato sauce to a boil.
2. Add in remaining ingredients.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 min.
4. Pull chicken apart with two forks, until it is as "shredded" as you want.
5. Cover and continue to cook until chicken is fully cooked.
6. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little water.
7. Fill tacos or tortillas with chicken mixture and top with your fav's!

Original recipe says this serves four...maybe we eat way more than the average person...but it was perfect for the two of us.

Steak Tacos and Vegetarian Ranch Beans

YUM! Super easy, healthy and very delicious! Where can you go wrong?? Matt was not a fan of the avacado salsa, but he's not a fan of avacados in general ;)

Steak Tacos with Avacado Lime Salsa

Original Recipe can be found on this fabulous blog...http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. cumin

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1-1/4 lb top sirloin steaks

12 small corn tortillas

3 cups shredded red cabbage

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

2 cups avacado lime salsa (recipe below)

Directions

1. In small bowl, combine chili powder, garlic, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper. Rub mixture on both sides of steaks.

2. Grill steaks 5-6 minutes on each side for medium rare or about 7 minutes on each side for medium.

3. Remove from grill and let meat sit for 10-15 minutes. Carve into thin slices.

4. Warm tortillas on the grill for about 30 seconds, turning once.

Avacado Lime Salsa

Ingredients

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks to make about 2 cups

2 avacados, cut into chunks

1/2 red onion, diced

2 limes, juiced to make about 1/4 cup

salt, to taste

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

2 jalepeno chiles, chopped, plus more to taste

Directions

Put cucumber, avacados, and onion in large bowl. Add lime juice and salt. Add cilantro and chiles, toss gently.

Vegetarian Ranch Beans

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium red onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

salt, to taste

1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Heat a pot on stove over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and bring to temperature.

2. Add onion and bell pepper, saute until softened, about 3 minutes.

3. Add chili powder, cumin and salt. Saute for another minute.

4. Add broth and beans. Let them heat for about 5 minutes, or until beans start to break down a little bit.

5. Add cilantro and mash beans to desired consistency.

Healthy Apple Crunch

No homework to do tonight so it's time to make some dessert! :)

This is a healthy alternative to an apple crisp and is just as yummy as the real thing! However, I used granny smith apples and would recommend using a different kind of apple if you don't want a tart dessert. It was still delicious but definitely had a bite to it!

Apple Crunch
http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/2008/02/apple-crunch.html

Ingredients
4 large apples
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 Tbsp butter (cold)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray an 8x8 baking dish with baking spray. Peel, core, and dice apples into 1/2-inch pieces. Spread apples evenly in baking dish.

In medium bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients along with the vanilla. With pastry blender, cut butter into dry ingredients until all butter is about the size of a small pea. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over apples.

Place baking dish in oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until apples have cooked down and begun to caramelize. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Yes I added ice cream to a healthy dessert! lol.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

With the weather going back to blah, I decided to make some more soup! The minestrone soup was amazing and Matt loved it, so why not give the soup thing another try?? Although I have to say that Matt was pretty skeptical about "cheddar corn chowder"...but when I told him it had bacon in it...he was all for it! lol.

I have been pretty obsessed with cooking blogs lately and I got this from one of my favorites, "Annie's Eats." I changed it around a little bit, and it was delicious!! Matt said that its the best thing I've made so far! (And I've tried A LOT of recipes lol)

Cheddar Corn Chowder
http://annies-eats.com/2007/08/21/cheddar-corn-chowder/
(serves 5-6)

Ingredients
4 oz bacon, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 large onions)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
6 cups chicken stock
3 cups white boiling potatoes, unpeeled and diced
5 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 cup half-and-half
5 oz. white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions
In a medium or large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside for later. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add corn, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. I added the majority of the cheese at this time and then mixed in the remaining 2 handfuls right before serving. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

*The bacon is missing in this picture because we ate it all! lol.

Minestrone Soup!

Over the past year, I have completely fallen in love with cooking and baking! So far, I have been more experimental with cooking than I have been with baking, mostly because I still need a few baking necessities...but I am working on that! Which reminds me...

Dear Martha Stewart Stand Mixer in buttercup yellow-you are a GORGEOUS piece ofmachinery and I would love to give you a home in my kitchen, if you weren't so darn expensive! Please go on sale...50% off would be nice! lol!

So when I started going through cooking blogs and family recipes, I decided that I needed something that would be able to explain all the cooking "lingo" to me, with pictures preferably, so I can get the most out of these recipes. Of course, loving everything vintage, the first thing that came to mind was the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook...

This adorable book has tons of helpful tips, measuring equivalents, and the best part...vintage pictures just like the ones in the original 1950's edition! Too cute!

So, after almost picking this book up off the store shelf, I came across another book that I couldn't help but look at...

This has everything that is in the Betty Crocker book PLUS it gives you four different versions of the same recipe! There is the traditional version, a quick time saving version, a light version and a "cooking for two" version! It has pictures as well, however, they are not cute little 1950's pictures... :(

BUT...seeing as how I usually cook for just Matt and myself, I occasionally like healthy food ;), and the fact that sometimes I'm in a time crunch...this was the perfect book! So now in addition to a few small cookbooks and the endless cooking blogs that I read, I now feel like I can tackle any recipe no matter how complicated in may seem! lol.

So...on to one of our favorite recipes from this book! Everything (so far) has been super delicious!

Minestrone Soup! (I immediately thought of my sister Katie when I saw this recipe. The girl was OBSESSED with minestrone soup for the longest time!)

Here is the original recipe from the book, I added my changes in parentheses...

Minestrone Soup

Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients

2 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 cup sliced celery

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (I used 2 tsp. dried parsley)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup vegetable oil

5 cups beef broth

2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage

1 cup sliced fresh carrots

2 teaspoons dried basil or Italian Seasoning (I used the basil)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.5 lb ground beef (I only used a pound)

1.5 cups sliced zucchini

1 cup cut up green beans (I omitted these, they are not Matt's favorite lol)

1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup uncooked ditalini or 4 ounces spaghetti, broken into pieces (I used leftover bowtie pasta)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In 8 qt. soup kettle, saute onions, celery, parsley and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cabbage, carrots, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour.

2. In large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. Stir into soup along with the zucchini, beans and pasta. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the veggies and pasta are tender. Top each serving with Parmesan cheese (which I didn't get the chance to do because Matt got a hold of the soup before I could! lol)

YUM! Probably after the first 20 minutes of simmering all the ingredients from part 1, the WHOLE HOUSE smelled amazing! Also, Matt doesn't like zucchini, but he ended up eating it in the soup! Success! lol.

Result: Yummy, gorgeous soup that I will definitely make again!