Healthier Chicken Lasagna

I use this recipe when I want a break from regular beef lasagna. It's a nice change of pace. It's a good way to sneak a few vegetables into your family too. Using the "no boil" lasagna noodles saves time and a dirty pan.

Healthier Chicken Lasagna

Ingredients:

½ cup chopped onion
2 carrots-peeled and diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 rotisserie chicken, remove skin and cut into bite-size pieces
1-10.75 ounce can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
½ cup low fat or skim milk
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 -10 ounce box frozen, chopped spinach-thawed and squeezed dry
12 ounces low fat cottage cheese
1 cup shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese
8 no-boil lasagna noodles

 Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Saute the onion and carrots in the butter in a medium saucepan until tender. Stir in the soup, milk and basil. Heat thoroughly.  Pour half of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place four of the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Spread the chicken pieces evenly on top of the noodles.
 

In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, cheddar cheese, and cottage cheese.  Evenly spread the spinach/cheese mixture on top of the chicken. Top with the remaining four lasagna noodles and then add the remaining soup/milk sauce as the final layer.  Cover the pan with foil. Bake for 45 minutes.

 

Serves 4-6

Rice-a-Roni Meatballs

This is SUCH an easy recipe for meatballs. I thought I had posted this recipe in June. Ooops! Doesn't look like it worked. Rice-A-Roni meatballs are nice for the beginning of Fall. It's hardly any work at all  :D

Rice-a-Roni Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 (7 ounce) package beef Rice-A-Roni

1 lb ground beef, prefer 85/15

1 egg, beaten

2 1/2 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons cornstarch in 3 tablespoons cold water

 Directions:
Set seasoning mix aside.
 Combine the rice mix and the egg in a large bowl.
 Add the raw beef to rice/egg mixture and combine with your hands.
 Roll into meatballs (about an inch and a half).
 In a large skillet, brown the meatballs on all sides.
 Meanwhile, mix the seasoning packet and boiling water.
 Pour over the meatballs and simmer for 30 minutes.
 Pour the cornstarch/water mixture into the skillet and simmer for 2 minutes.

  

Pillsbury Pretzel Pups - should have been a contender

This is the recipe I submitted to this year's Pillsbury Bake-Off. I went to the mall and tasted one of those pretzel-wrapped hot dogs, but they cost almost $5 apiece. Outrageous!  I used Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf for the pretzel dough component. You can make all 8 hot dogs for around $10. I'm still sad that it wasn't a contender  :(     I hope you enjoy having these at home. They're perfect for dinner or watching football on TV.

Pillsbury Pretzel Pups

Pretzel Pup Ingredients:
1-11 ounce can Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf
1-16  ounce package jumbo hot dogs
1-8 ounce block Pepper Jack cheese (can substitute cheddar, etc)
1 egg white
3 tablespoons hot water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
cooking spray

Pretzel Pup Honey Mustard:
1/2 cup mayo or light mayo
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the hot water and baking soda. Set bowl aside to allow it to come to room temperature.

Place the opened Crusty French dough on a large cutting board. Look for the seam on the dough. Unroll the Crusty French dough horizontally. Cut into eight equal length strips.
Spray a large baking sheet with the cooking spray. Butterfly the hot dogs. Cut the Pepper Jack cheese into 8 equal length strips. Place a cheese stick in the opened hot dog. Wrap a single strip of the Crusty French dough around the hot dog containing cheese in a spiral fashion. Place the wrapped hot dog on the baking sheet. Repeat the process for the remaining seven hot dogs, spacing them evenly on the baking sheet.

Add the egg white to the cooled water/baking soda mixture and mix well. Using a pastry brush, coat the top of each wrapped hot dog with the egg white mixture. Sprinkle an equal amount of coarse salt on each pretzel wrapped hot dog.

Bake the Pretzel Pups for 14-17 minutes until browned. While the Pretzel Pups are baking, mix the 4 ingredients for the honey mustard. Cover and refrigerate the honey mustard until serving time.

Makes 8 pretzel-wrapped hot dogs.

Red Velvet Milkshake

This is the recipe that got me into the top 10 finalists in the Below Zero Hero contest. (I bet you could see this post coming :P )  You can use a cupcake or a cake slice from the bakery to prepare the milkshake. We tested out the milkshakes at home and inhaled them. You can vote for the Red Velvet Milkshake at www.belowzerohero.com through September 1.

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Makes 3 servings
Ingredients
Milk:	1 cup of milk
Ice Cream:	15 scoops vanilla
Plus:	1 red velvet cupcake from the bakery
Toppings
	2oz. cream cheese, softened 3 Tbsp powdered sugar 1 Tbsp 2% milk 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Place 8 scoops of vanilla ice cream in the blender. Crumble the red velvet cupcake over the ice cream. Place the remaining 7 scoops of vanilla ice cream on top of the crumbled cupcake. Pour the milk over the mixture and blend until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Set aside for topping the milkshake. Divide the Red Velvet Milkshake among 3 glasses. Drizzle the glaze evenly on top of the milkshakes. INHALE before someone tries to drink your shake!

S-A-S-S-Y Brat Burger

I just submitted this recipe to the Johnsonville Bratwurst Burger contest. It turned out to be tasty enough to share. I bought the Brat Burgers ($8 for 6) and Southwest Spicy Mustard-Great Value Brand ($1.50) at WalMart. You can even get 6 bolillo rolls for less than $2 in the WM Bakery. Double or triple the quantities as needed. If you go to this link, I'd appreciate your vote:  http://www.midanmarketing.com/Walmart_Brat_Burger_Contest/?pg=recipes

S-A-S-S-Y Brat Burger

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 Johnsonville Bratwurst Patties
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 medium poblano pepper, seeded and sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons Southwest Spicy Mustard or comparable Sweet/Hot Mustard
 2 bolillo rolls, wheat or white

Steps: Place onion, poblano pepper, olive oil and salt in a medium skillet. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15-17 minutes. While the onion/pepper mixture is cooking, grill/cook the bratwurst patties according to package directions. Slice the bolillo rolls horizontally. Top each bratwurst patty with 2 tablespoons Southwest Spicy Mustard and evenly divide the onion/pepper mixture.

Clahan's Jersey Beef - Best Steak Recipe EVER

In 2000, there was a show on Food Network called Calling All Cooks. The man, Mr. Clahan, and his wife didn't have any children and passed this recipe on as their legacy. It's been one of my family's favorites for over decade. I serve it as dinner and also as an appetizer. I did reduce the amount of sauce from the original recipe, but you can double it, if you want more. This recipe has never failed to draw raves!

Clahan's Jersey Beef - Best Steak Recipe EVER

Ingredients:

Steak:

2 1/2 lbs top sirloin steak, 1 and 1/2 inches thick

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 tablespoon minced garlic clove

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, fine grind

1 loaf white bread, toasted

Sauce:
1 stick butter
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons red wine
1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper

Directions:

Trim off all fat from the outside of the steak.

Mix the mustard, garlic, Worcestershire and pepper in a small bowl. Spread the marinade all over the steak. Marinate at room temperature for 1-2 hours, but do not marinate for more than 2 hours. Preheat the grill. Cook 10-12 minutes per side for medium. Let meat rest before slicing across grain in 1/4 inch slices (I use an electric knife.) In a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Cut the toast into thirds. Place a slice of the sirloin on top of the toast section. Drizzle with the sauce.

Homemade Microwave Peanut Brittle

I have had this recipe for so long, I kind of forgot about it. It came from the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper originally. The recipe is SO old that it probably used a 700 Watt microwave. Most of the current microwaves are 1000 Watt, so you might want to reduce the cook time by a third.

Homemade Microwave Peanut Brittle

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanuts or pecan halves
1 and 1/2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
As prepared in a 700 Watt microwave oven. 

Butter a 9x13 inch pan and set aside for later use. Using a 1 and ½ or 2 quart microwave-safe, glass casserole dish, combine the sugar and corn syrup.  Cook on 100% power for 4 minutes.  Remove the mixture and stir. Cook an additional 4 minutes at 100% until mixture is a light brown.  Add the butter and vanilla and blend well.  Cook at 100% for 1-2 minutes. Syrup will be “lava hot”. Add the baking soda and stir. The syrup will become foamy. Gently fold in the peanuts or pecan halves.  Pour the brittle mixture in the prepared pan while it’s hot. Allow the brittle to cool for 1 hour.  When the brittle is cooled, break it into pieces and store in an air-tight container. Makes 1 pound of brittle.