Zuchinni Quesadilla

This is another lunch recipe I have been using from the Flexitarian Diet cook book. It is really easy, really good and really healthy!!

Ingredients:

1 zuchinni

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup black beans rinsed

grated cheddar cheese to your taste

Cumin to taste (about 1/2 tsp.)

Chili powder to taste (about 1//4 tsp.)

lime juice

2 tortillas

Directions:

Cook your tortillas, then combine zuchinni, black beans, spices and lime juice and toss together.

Top one tortilla with zuchinni mixture and cheese. Place second tortilla on top and microwave for one minute.

This is messy to eat like a regular quesadilla, so I use a knife and fork and kind of cut it all up to eat it.

Mexically Chicken Soup

So easy so fast so tasty. This is one if you like a little heat to your food. I added extra taco seasoning and so it was quite spicy but you can adjust to your own taste.

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used 2 cans)

1 Tbs. taco seasoning (I used about 2 1/2 Tbs. and it was quite spicy, but Dennis really liked it and it still wasn't too spicy for me)

2 14 oz. cans chicken broth

1 16 oz. can white beans (I used Navy beans)

1/2 cup green salsa

fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:

spray large sauce pan with cooking spray and heat chicken and spices over medium heat. Add broth. In a separate bowl drain and semi mash the beans then add mashed beans and salsa to soup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Serve with sour cream.

The Stromboli, COOKED.

I was really nervous about how the stromboli would turn out having never made it and then freezing it as well. But it turned out really yummy. We ate the ham and cheese one this time and it was just like a hot ham and cheese sandwich, so it doesn't have to be pizza realated, you can be creative with this one.

For cooking:

I did let it thaw completely and rise before baking in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes (if starts to get too brown, just cover with foil).

Muesli: Summertime Oatmeal

I have been making a lot of my lunches and breakfasts out the Flexitarian Diet cookbook my mom gave me and I am really enjoying it. Some of the food is a little different than what I am use to and some of the flavors are ones I think I will need to aquire more of a taste for but I feel so healthy when I eat these meals! I feel my body inwardly thanking me each time I eat! A good change from feeling guilty whenever I eat!!! Anyway, I think I found a favorite breakfast that I will enjoy on a regular basis from here on out!! I didn't take a picture but I am sure I will be making this again soon and will add a photo when I do.

This recipe is called Swiss Apple Muesli and it is cool, filling, sweet and 5 weight watcher points!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 of a small apple finely chopped
1 Tbs. sliced almonds (which I crunched up)
1 tsp. honey

Directions:
Mix together and let sit 10 minutes or overnight (I did the overnight thing). Enjoy!!

So fresh, milky and fat the next morning, delicious! It's a great way to enjoy oatmeal in the summer. You can do different fruits, and nuts too, there is another recipe that calls for pears and almonds, I can't wait to try that one as well!!

Almond Crusted Tilapia Review

On my freezer menu you will find the tilapia recipe from the Fresh Food Fast Cookbook I have. It was the first time making this recipe so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. To our enjoyment, it turned out delicious. It may be a new monthly favorite. We also had leftovers that I am going to use to make fish tacos for a left over dish. YUM!! Definately try this one if your looking for a quick and tasty fish dish.

My Specialty: Peanut Butter Cookies

Growing up I loved making cookies. Chocolate chip are the traditional one that everyone makes but mine always turned out cakey (maybe due to the high altitude in Utah?) and so I never was quite satisfied with how they turned out. However, the one cookie that always turns out well for me are my peanut butter cookies from my Betty Crocker Cook book. They are always soft and chewy and oh so tasty. I made some the other day for a gift and dressed them up by putting them in a wide mouth canning jar and topping with a cute ribbon and fabric. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour

Directions:

Beat butter and peanut butter with electric mixer until combined. Add sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer and stir in remaining flour. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in sugar, criss-cross flat with fork on baking sheet. Bake @ 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes.

Happy Birthday Dennis!

It was Dennis' birthday over last week-end and he requested a cheese cake for his birthday cake. It is one of his favorite things that I make and it turned out yummy once again. A tip I learned recently from Patsy, a friend from Dennis' work that wants to be a chef is to put in a pan of water when cooking the cake that way it won't split (which mine did every time until I used this tip!). I serve this plain or with a fruit topping usually raspberries that I just make a sauce from frozen berries and sugar but this time I just used my strawberry freezer jam and it was really good. Here is the recipe (again from my trusted Betty Crocker):

Ingredients:

crust:

1 pkg. finely crushed grahm crackers

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 butter melted

filling:

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

3 slightly beaten eggs

16 oz. sour cream

Directions:

For crust:

Combine graham crackers, walnuts, 1 Tbs. sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter. Press crumb mixture into bottom of 8 or 9 in. springform pan.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer until combined. Beat in sour cream until smooth. Stir in eggs.

Pour filling into crust lined pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a 2 1/2 inch area around outside edge is set. (BEWARE, I have taken my cake out too early and it is so sad to cut into it and realize it was not fully cooked!! Cake should be fairly set even in the middle, if you are worried or it's getting too brown on top just cover with foil until you feel it's done). Cool for 15 minutes (at least). Loosen crust from sides of pan with a knife and cool 30 more minutes. Remove sides of pan and chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Tofu Mousse???

Yep that's right, I made mousse out of tofu!! It is a really bizzare food, but in a good way. If you have ever used tofu before you know that it really just takes the flavor of whatever seasonings and other foods you cook it with. Usually what gets people is the texture, so I was excited and surprised to see how smooth and creamy you could make it. If you like dark chocolate you might actually enjoy this.

Ingredients:

1 package (12oz) tofu (lite, firm)

2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tbs. agave nectar (I didn't have this so I used pineapple)

Dash of vanilla

1/2 cup raspberries

whipped cream

Directions:

In a blender puree tofu, cocoa powder, juice and vanilla. Top with whipped cream and raspberries.

Freezer Cooking Complete!!!! Thank Goodness!

I am having trouble formatting this blog for some reason, so sorry for the wierd font sizes!!! Here are the results of 2 straight days of cooking! The only thing that gets me through it is knowing I know get a month off!!! Yay!

Chinese Style BBQ Pork

Ingredients:

Pork loin

honey

4 Tbs. hoisin sauce

5 Tbs. Ketchup

3 Tbs. light soy sauce

3 Tbs. dark soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

salt

Throw it all in a crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.

Can be served over rice or I am going to try it as a sandwich as well.

Stromboli:

Ingredients:

Amity's bread recipe. (under calzones)

Any Pizza or sandwich toppings

I did a pepperoni and cheese and a turkey, provolone and tomato.

Divide dough in half. Roll out.

Fill with toppings. Fold in edges and roll up sealing seam.

Cut top.
Bake at 350 until golden and cooked through. Can top with parmesean cheese.

Polenta Pizza Bake:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Cornmeal

2 cups Water

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 lb ground turkey

Italian seasonings

Mozerella cheese

Directions:

Make polenta by bringing water to a boil. Add cornmeal and stir continuosly until thickened. Pour into a prepared pan (8x8).

Cook ground turkey, add tomotoes and seasonings.
Top polenta with meat, tomotoes and finally grated cheese.

BROIL for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I made one without broiling it and froze it to see if it would work and then made one fresh. It's a little bland, so next time I would add a little more cheese and seasonings.

Corn Chowder:

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups sweet potatoes peeled and diced

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp. garlic

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 1lb bag frozen corn

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup half and half

Directions:

Saute onions, peppers and celery with garlic on medium heat and cook until onions are translucent. Add flour, stirring continuously for about a minute. Add broth slowly and stirring well to incorporate the flour. Add potato, corn and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add half and half.

Cool completley before freezing.

Stuffed Peppers:

Ingredients:

thinly sliced deli ham, chopped

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 garlic clove crushed

1/4 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp oregano

3 cups cooked brown rice

salt and pepper to taste

grated cheddar cheese

4 large peppers.

Directions:

In a skillet cook ham until brown. In a large mixing bowl, add ham, tomatoes, garlic, marjoram, oregano, rice, salt and pepper and cheese. Mix well.

Wash peppers and slice in half, stuff with rice mixture and top with extra cheese if so desired. From freezer, bake @ 450 degrees for one hour, uncover peppers and bake for 20 minutes.

Chicken Quesadillas:

I just had one of these today and they were SO yummy!!

Ingredients:

2 cans chicken

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 15oz can petite diced tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

14 tortillas

grated montary jack and cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet, break up and heat chicken with garlic powder and pepper. Add tomatoes, peppers, onion and garlic and simmer until liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside.

I use the costco tortillas that need to be cooked so, Cook your tortillas.
Assemble quesadillas, by topping a tortilla with chicken mixture and then with cheese. Place a 2nd tortilla on top, press gently. Wrap in foil and then place 2-4 in a ziplock bag for the freezer.

Cook strait from freezer @ 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Can be served with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

YUM!!!

I thought the filling just looked so fresh and pretty!

Mexican Lasagna:

Taken from my favorite Betty Crocker book, this is actually called Tortilla-Black Bean Casserole, but it seems like a mexican style lasagna to me and it's easier to remember, so that's why I call it that. Dennis first made this when we lived in Guam and we really liked it. It's meatless which I love and it is just plain yummy. We like to serve it with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole and sour cream.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped onions

1 1/2 cups chopped green peppers

1 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

3/4 cup green salsa or picante sauce

2 tsp. cumin

2 garlic cloves minced

2 cans black or kidney beans (I always just use black), rinsed and drained

12 6 inch corn tortillas (I would stick to corn on this, I think flour tortillas would get a little soggy)

grated monteray jack cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet combine onion, peppers, diced tomatoes, green salsa, cumin and garlic. Bring to boiling and the reduce heat. Simmer for 1o minutes then add beans.

Assemble similar to lasagna: layer first bean mixture, some cheese then top with tortillas. Repeat until you hit rim of pan. You will have to overlap tortillas a bit, that's ok.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes fresh or completely thawed. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Bagel Pizzas:

I gave these to the kids the other day and all but Will ate them right up! These were so easy and cheap to make, so much better than the bagel bits in the freezer section at the grocery!

Ingredients:

1 bag mini bagels

pizza toppings of your choice

Directions:

Per half bagel top with sauce, cheese and topping of your choice.

Broil until cheese melts. Allow to cool completely then wrap in foil. The recipe I have says you can pop these in your kids lunch from the freezer and they can eat it by lunch time. I just popped mine in the oven on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and they were perfect.

Almond Crusted Tilapia:

Ingredients:

Tilapia filets

1/4 almonds, crushed
2 Tbs. dry bread crumbs

salt and pepper

Italian, garlic seasonings

Dijon mustard

canola oil

parsely

Directions:

Combine nuts, bread crumbs and seasonings. Coat both sides of filets with mustard and dreadge through crumb mixture.

If frozen, thaw overnight. Heat 1 Tbs. canola oil in skillet. Cook completly thawed fish for 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Sprinkle with parsley

Diet Pepsi (AKA Diet Dr. Pepper) Chicken:

Ingredients:

chicken breasts

1 small onion diced

1/2 cup ketchup

1 cup diet cola

2 carrots, cut matchstick style

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine onion, carrots, ketchup, and cola. Place chicken in pan and cover with cola mixture. Freeze.

To cook, thaw over night in the refigerator. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through. Serve over rice.

Chicken Tenders:

I got this recipe from an old stand by my mom used to make. She would do chicken breasts, but my kids love chicken nuggets and I thought I would try this chicken tender style and see what my kids thought.

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts or tenders

mayonaise

mustard

bread crumbs

Directions:

Make a mustard mayo sauce in a shallow dish, place bread crumbs in another shallow dish. Coat chicken with mayo/mustard mixture and then coat with bread crumbs.

Allow to thaw over night in refigerator. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (for tenders, longer for breasts) or until cooked through.

Beef, Bean and Cheese Burritos Enchilada Style:

I had left over roast and thought this might be a yummy way to use it up.

Ingredients:

left over roast

1 can refried beans

cheese, grated

2 cans enchilada sauce

8 tortillas

Directions:

Cook tortillas if using the non cooked kind. Mix in a medium bowl, shredded roast, and beans. Fill tortillas with bean mixture and cheese. Arrange in pan. Top with enchilada sauce and cheese.

Allow to thaw at least 8 hours. Cook at 350 degrees aprox. 45 minutes depending on how frozen they were when you started cooking them.

Freezer Cooking Day 1

Completed nine meals yesterday and plan to finish up today. Will post pics. and details soon!! Thanks for being patient. I also have a cheese cake and peanut butter cookie recipe coming that I have made over the last week as well!! Stay tuned.