Lasagna

1 box oven ready lasagna noodles (12 oz)
1 jar pasta sauce (1 lb. 10 oz.)
1 large cottage cheese (24 oz.)
1 lb. smoked honey ham
1 lb. mozzarella cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 dash of Italian seasoning

(I usually make one to eat and one to freeze) Spray 2 8x8 pans or 1 13x9 with nonstick oil. Start with a layer of sauce, then noodles, next cottage cheese, then a layer of ham, following with mozzarella. Continue layers until top. End with a layer of sauce covered with mozzarella and parmesan. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Place a toothpick or 2 in the center of pan. Cover with aluminum foil. This will create a tent so the cheeses don't stick to the foil. Bake at 375 for about 60 minutes. If cooking from frozen, add another 30 to 60 minutes.

Asian Beef and Snow Peas

2 lbs beef round steak (I used a roast) cut into thin strips
8 ounces snow peas
1/2 C. soy sauce
1/3 C. beef broth
2 TB brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
2 TB vegetable oil
2 TB minced garlic
1/8 tsp ground ginger

In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, broth, brown sugar, cornstarch, oil, garlic, and ginger. Set aside.

Stir fry beef in 2 TB oil until cooked through (there will be juice from the beef in the pan—leave it in there). Add the snow peas and stir fry 2 minutes. Pour sauce over mixture and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer 2 more minutes, until slightly thickened. Serve over rice.

**If you like a thicker sauce, you can add some cornstarch mixed with water to the sauce.

BBQ Pizza

Chicken Breasts (2 cups shredded)
BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's)
Diced Red Onions
1 1/2-2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
Cilantro

Pizza Dough
1 cup warm water
1 t sugar
2 t yeast
mix above and let sit, then add
2 1/2 c flour
2 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Directions: Place chicken breasts and BBQ sauce in crock pot 8-10 hours. Shred chicken and put more BBQ sauce on (I've already done this much for you). Put BBQ chicken on top of pizza dough and top with red onions, cheese and cilantro and Bake.

Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs stew meat
1 onion minced
4 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp ketchup
4 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
4 Tbsp beef base
4 cups sliced mushrooms
24 oz sour cream

In a large saucepan melt butter and sautee onions. Sear meat. Once browned add mushrooms, Worchestershire sauce, ketchup and beef base. Cover in water, turn heat to low and let simmer uncovered until meat is tender. Temper sour cream into meat mixture. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

August Meals

Stouffer's Lasagna - Laurie

Enchiladas or Tostadas - Tawnee

BBQ Pizza - Julianne

Fajitas - Margaret

Pizza Braid - Ariane

Lasagna - Julie

Asian Beef and Snow Peas - Naomi

Beef Stroganoff - Britta

Thai Egg Rolls

4 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded onion
1 lb. ground turkey (chicken, beef, or pork)
1 or 2 garlic cloves
1/2 small package bean thread noodles (boiled and cut)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup hoison sauce
4 eggs

Spring roll wrappers

Combine all ingredients and roll in spring roll wrapper. Seal end edge of wrapper with egg whites. Cook in oil 375 for about 8 minutes. (Freezes well once cooked. Reheat in oven at 400 for 20-25 min. or until crispy and heated through.) Serve with dipping sauce and rice.

Creamy Pesto Chicken (or Shrimp) with Pasta (Gnocchi, Cavatapi, or Linguini)

This is a variation on a recipe from the Food Network that was featured on Oprah, CNN, etc. It is also a variation on a dish served at the Corner Bakery (Pesto Cavatapi) in CA, Chicago, etc.

1 tbsp butter (15 mL)
1 tbsp olive oil (15 mL)
2 tbsp flour (30 mL)
2 cups 1% milk (500 mL)
1/2 tsp pepper (2.5 mL)
375 g pasta (11 oz)
2/3 cup grated low-fat Parmesan cheese (7 mL)
1/4 cup pesto (60 mL)
Grilled Chicken (or Large shrimp, cooked peeled and deveined (454g or 1 lb)
Chili flakes (optional)
Crushed red pepper, optional FYI: I added 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Directions:

Boil water for pasta. Melt butter and olive oil in a nonstick fry pan. Stir in flour until pasty, then add milk, stirring constantly. Season with pepper. Add pasta to boiling water. Set timer for 3 minutes for Gnocchi (or follow package directions). Stir Parmesan cheese into cream sauce. Blend in pesto and cook for a few minutes on low until thickened. If the sauce gets too thick it’s ok to keep adding milk a little bit at a time. Stir in chicken to heat through. Serve over hot pasta. Yuuuuummmmy!!!!!

(Meal group: Boil Gnocchi - set timer for 3 minutes, or substitute your favorite pasta. Bring the sauce to a boil on medium heat, then simmer until it thickens. The chicken is already cooked through. I don't know how well cream sauces freeze so you may choose to eat this one sooner than later.)

Easy Crock Pot Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

3 chicken breasts
1 cube butter
1 package Italian Seasoning (like you'd make salad dressing with)
8 oz cream cheese
1 large can cream of chicken
1/2 cup water

First, take out cream cheese and set on counter to bring to room temperature.

Cook Chicken, butter, and Italian dressing seasoning in crock pot on high for 3 hours, stirring ever so often to coat chicken with seasoning. Take Chicken out and shred. Before putting chicken back in crock pot, add cream of chicken soup, cream cheese, and ½ cup hot water to seasonings. Stir until smooth-you may need to let it heat up a few minutes to get cream cheese completely mixed in, then add chicken and heat back up to bubbly.

Serve over fettuccine noodles. Top each serving with fresh parmesan cheese.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

3 chicken breasts, roasted and shredded
½ onion, diced
½ green or red pepper, diced
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¾ tsp sugar
1 cup chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
½ cup pace picante salsa
Sprinkle of cinnamon

Saute onions and green pepper in 1 T olive oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients except salsa and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add salsa, and heat to boil. Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, and cheese.

(Meal exchange: Bring soup to a boil, and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Top with cheese, chips, and sour cream. Also good with corn added, if you want more veggies.)

July Meals

Creamy Pesto Gnocchi w/ Grilled Chicken - Julianne

Chicken Enchilada Soup - Elisa

Shish Kabobs - Tawnee

Porcupine Meatballs - Laurie

Crock Pot Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo - Naomi

Thai Egg Rolls - Julie

Cream Cheese Chicken - Emily

Tacos - Brandi

Tortiloni Marinara - Margaret

White Chili - Britta