Mexican stuffed shells

Heather gave this recipe to me and I tried it last night.  It was UH-mazing!!!!

Ingredients:

1 box jumbo shells

1 lb hamburger

1 jar picante sauce

¾ c taco sauce

½ pk taco seasoning

Shredded Mexican 4 cheese – I go extra cheesy so I get the 1 lb bag and use ¾ of it at least.

French fried onions

Cooking Info:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook shells

Put half the jar of picante sauce and ¼ cup of taco sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.     

Brown hamburger. Add the remaining picante sauce, ½ cup taco sauce, taco seasoning and probably 4-6 oz of cheese into the meat.  Mix well.

Stuff the shells with the meat mixture and lay in casserole dish.

Cover stuffed shells with cheese.

Top with French fried onions (I use the whole container J)

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  

Serve With: Sour cream on top, spanish rice and salad on the side.

BBQ Drumsticks

I have to give a shout-out to our friend, Mike, for these delicious BBQ Drumsticks - I've made them several times and they're always a hit!

Ingredients: 

Chicken drumsticks - enough for your family
BBQ sauce - cheap is better, 1-3 bottles
Garlic Powder

Cooking Info:

Heat oven to 275

Fill deep baking dish with drumsticks - use a pan only big enough for your drumsticks and really pack them in.  Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder.  Cover with sauce - enough so the drumsticks are at least covered halfway.  Cover with foil and bake 2 1/2 hours.  Remove foil and bake another hour.

These will be saucy and messy and fall off the bone.  Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan.

Serve With:

Corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, salad...anything!

Stove Top Macaroni & Cheese

I do love macaroni and cheese!  I haven't found an oven recipe that I just love, so I tried this stove top recipe.  I really like it!  It's in our regular rotation now.

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups large elbow Macaroni, uncooked (about 1/2 lb)
• 2 cups low fat Milk (about 16 oz) , or more if needed
• **if more milk is needed, additional 1/4 cup milk at a time for final cooking. **Macaroni pasta varies so much! have additional milk on hand, or be ready to increase the heat if your macaroni doesn't absorb fast enough.  I generally need to use 3 cups milk to 2 cups macaroni
• 1 tablespoon Butter, for flavor ( I tried this recipe once without the butter and I didn't notice any difference with the recipe. More heart healthy!)
• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt, plus additional for final season later
• generous dash of Nutmeg
• 1 cup Grated Cheese, any one or combination of  ( jack, cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, gouda, parmesan*, asiago*, pecorino*) *Hard cheeses are best combined with a secondary,  softer, better melting cheese. Cheese varies in flavor and salt level too! My favorite so far has been a mix of mozzarella and sharp cheddar, but I use about 1.25 cups total
• black pepper to taste (optional)

 Cooking Info: 

1. Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain.

2. In medium sauce pan (about 3.5 qt), add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and nutmeg.

3. On medium heat, slowly bring milk/macaroni mixture to a simmer, stirring the macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! The milk mixture will come to a boil very quickly and leaving it unattended will leave a big mess on your stove stop.

4. Once mixture comes to a simmer, immediately turn down heat to LOW. Macaroni will slowly cook in the milk. Having your heat too high will evaporate the milk too quickly!

5. Continue to stir the mixture frequently so that macaroni will cook evenly and absorb milk evenly. If you don't stir your mixture frequently, you will get a big clump of macaroni in the end! Stir, stir stir!

6. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk has been fully absorbed.

**If macaroni is not cooked fully, add a little more milk or water  to mixture ( in small amounts) until macaroni is fully cooked. This will take about another 5 minutes.

7. When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the  cheese evenly into the macaroni.

8. Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes. This rest period will allow macaroni to plump up and absorb any excess milk.

9. Take a final taste and add additional salt to taste. Before serving, stir one final time to mix everything together.


 Serve With: Usually salad and grilled chicken!


Nutritional Info (Estimated with 2% sharp cheddar and 3 cups milk, based on 5 servings, no butter, 1.25 cups cheese)
Calories:  299
Carbs: 41
Protein: 14
Fat: 4

Banana Split Muffins

Anyone familiar with our PDAC days remembers that I love muffins.  Lemon Poppyseed are my favorite, but I've really never met a muffin that I didn't like.  I had two very ripe bananas staring at me today, and I went searching for recipes.  I love ChickInTheKitchen, so when I found her recipe for banana chocolate chip muffins, I had to try it.  But...it called for three or four bananas, and I only had two.  After a quick Facebook shout-out, I decided to add mashed strawberries and mini chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas
1 cup chopped ripe strawberries (mine were pretty ripe)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups flour (I used All Purpose, will try with whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Cooking Info:

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 12 regular sized muffin cups with cooking spray.
Mash bananas, strawberries, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Add in other ingredients, except chips.  Stir well.  Fold in chocolate chips.
Drop into 12 muffin cups (the PC scoop is AWESOME for this!)  Bake 20-24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve With:

They're fine just plain!

Nutrition Info:

Serves:  12
Calories:  135
Carbs:  20
Fat:  5
Protein:  3

Spicy Garlic Chicken with Orzo

We eat a lot of chicken...chicken on the grill, Chicken Divan, etc.  I'm always looking for new and exciting ways...I found a winner with this dish on All Recipes that I adapted just a bit reading the comments and based on what I had on hand.  The nice thing is, it's really something that you could throw anything into!

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
salt to taste
2 cups fresh spinach (you could use whatever veggies - tomatoes, peppers, broccoli)
chicken broth (I used a full box, could use less)

Cooking Info:

Bring a pot of the chicken broth to boil (you could use half water, half broth, or all water if you wish).  Add in whatever spices you prefer - Italian seasoning, oregano, salt/pepper, etc.  Add orzo and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Drain
While orzo is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook until garlic begins to brown.  Stir in chicken, season with salt if desired.  Cook until juices run clear.  Do not drain oil - you need the extra moisture.  Stir in the cooked orzo.  Add in spinach and cook until it just begins to wilt.  You can serve this topped with grated Parmesan cheese if you like.

Serve With:

Good with a salad and corn.

Nutrition Info:

Serves:  4
Calories:  351
Fat: 10.6
Carbs:  40.4
Protein: 22.3

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

I adapted two recipes from ChickInTheKitchen and Simply Recipes to get these.  We all LOVED them...so delicious.  I'd make them with walnuts and fewer chocolate chips, but no one in my family likes nuts.  You could easily cut the chocolate chips in half, and I intend to try the ChickInTheKitchen version with half whole wheat flour next time.

Ingredients: 

3 c. grated zucchini (about 1 large)
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. mini chocolate chips (I only had regular semi-sweet)

Cooking Info: 

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients up to the chocolate chips, and mix thoroughly. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Lightly grease your cupcake liners or pan with non-stick spray and fill to just below the top — you may need to pat the batter down as you fill the liners, as it is very thick.  (I try never to use liners, so I just grease the pan)

Bake for 30 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 30 minutes before removing muffins from their liners or the pan.

Serve With:

These would be yummy with some cream cheese, flavored butter, etc.  We ate them plain or warmed for 20 seconds in the microwave with a tsp of butter.  I kept them in a Tupperware on the counter for 3-4 days and they were fine - but you could wrap individually and freeze these for quick breakfast on the go.

Nutrition Info:

Makes:  12 regular sized muffins
Calories:  367
Fat:  15
Carbs:  56
Protein:  6