Lasagna (Meatless)

Ingredients:

• 9-12 Lasagna Noodles
• 1 Pint Cottage Cheese
• 4 Eggs
• 1/4-1/2 C Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 C+ Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3 C Parsley
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• ~1 C Grated Mozzarella Cheese
• Spaghetti Sauce (We like Prego Mushroom)

Preheat oven to 375* F.  Cook Lasagna noodles about 1/2-2/3 recommended cook time (~6 minutes) and drain.  Meanwhile, combine eggs, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.  In pan, layer two repetitions of noodle, cottage cheese mixture, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella topped with a layer of noodle, spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese.  I won’t tell you what size of pan because you might prefer two thin layers or two or more thicker layers.  We like to use small loaf pans and make individual lasagnas.  They look really classy and are easy to serve and portion.  Bake 30 minutes at 375*.  Consider aluminum foil or a cookie sheet beneath pan in case of spilling over.

 

Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 C diced onion
• 3/4 C diced green pepper
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5 oz can pinto beans
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 t salt
• 2 t chili powder
• 1 bay leaf

Brown beef in large pot.  Add onion and green pepper (cook until tender).  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer for approximately 1 hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.

 

Scallops with Pasta and Herbs

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb scallops
• olive oil
• flour
• salt
• pepper
• basil
• Mushrooms, washed and quartered
• Garlic Salt
• Margarine/Butter
• 6 oz (uncooked) bowtie noodles
• Thyme
• Bay leaf
• Garlic
• Diced Tomato
• Parmesan cheese

Put noodles on to boil.  Put scallops in a Ziploc bag with flour, salt, pepper, and basil.  Shake until coated.  Heat olive oil in small frying pan and fry scallops until cooked through (cut in half with spatula to verify complete change in opacity), turning regularly.  In another pan, sautee mushrooms in garlic salt and margarine.  Meanwhile, heat margarine in saucepan with thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf, garlic, basil, diced tomato, and Parmesan.  Stir until blended.  Drain noodles.  Combine noodles, mushrooms, scallops, mushrooms, and sauce.

 

Dodo and Nigerian Stew

Ingredients:

• 3 Plantains (on the yellowish end)
• Vegetable Oil
• >1 lb chicken
• 1/4 red bell pepper, minced (I minced it all and froze the remainder in three separate bags for next time)
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 14.5 oz can diced tomato
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• <2 C water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube or equivalent
• Salt and Pepper
• Thyme
• Rice, preferably basmati or jasmine

This recipe can be made on the stove or in the crock pot.  Watch for distinction in directions.  Sautee onion and bell pepper in tomato paste in fry pan for crock pot or large stew pot for stove.  Move to crock pot if cooking that way.  Add chicken, diced tomato, bouillon, salt and pepper to taste, a dash of thyme, and water (less than one cup for crock pot, 1-2 cups on stove).  Don’t add too much water–remember, the diced tomato were canned in water and you don’t want it to taste too watery.  Simmer (1.5-2 hrs on the stove or >6 hrs in the crock pot), stirring occasionally and watching viscosity.  During the last 30-60 minutes, peel plantains by chopping off the ends, slicing down the side (just through the skin), and removing the skin.  Slice at an angle to make elongated pieces about a thumb joint thick.  Heat vegetable oil in frying pan.  Place plantain pieces in oil not touching.  Turn when the bottoms are light to golden brown.  Remove after the other side has reached a similar color and place on a napkin-lined plate to absorb excess oil.  Add plantains to stew and cook for a minimum of 10 additional minutes.  Cook rice according to instructions.  Serve with stew over rice.

 

Chicken Parmageane

Ingredients:

Chicken Parmageane pictured with squash and steamed broccoli

• Chicken Tenders
• Flour
• Egg
• Milk
• Salt & Pepper
• Paprika
• Bread Crumbs
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put flour in one bowl; egg, milk, salt & pepper, and paprika in another (blend well); and bread crumbs and Parmesan in another (1:1 ratio).  Coat each chicken tender first in flour, than in egg mixture, and finally in bread crumb mixture.  Lay coated tenders on a greased cookie sheet or in a greased casserole dish.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour (cut into the largest piece of chicken to see if it is thoroughly cooked).  Spoon spaghetti sauce over each piece of chicken and sprinkle over mozzarella.  Return to cooling oven until cheese is melted.

 

Taco Soup

Recently, my mom gave us the left over carcass of a BBQ flavored chicken.  She said I could boil it down and make soup out of it.  ‘What kind of soup can I make with BBQ chicken?’ I thought.  Taco soup seemed the only solution.  While it turned out that the chicken was not BBQ flavored, the taco soup turned out amazing.  We did some taste tests to see if it was better straight or creamy and what one should add to make it creamy.  Matt preferred it straight but liked the sour cream version, too.  Both my sister and I liked it best with cream cheese.  Everyone agreed, however, that half and half was just bad!  (Pay attention to the recipe for those options, don’t just put it all in).  It’s cheap, too.  We calculated it out and discovered that, after the donated chicken, we spent more on the tortilla chips than the rest of the meal.  If you add in the cost of the meat, you can make it for under $6–that’s 6 portions!  You don’t have to have a chicken carcass, either.  You can use any kind of meat (chicken, pork, ground beef, beef roasts).  I’ll make notes of where the recipe might be different.

Ingredients:

• >1 lb meat (chicken, pork, ground beef, or roast beef)
• 1 medium sized yellow onion, minced
• 1 package taco seasoning (we like Lawry’s b/c there isn’t any MSG)
• 1 package Ranch dressing mix (Hidden Valley is our favorite)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 six oz can tomato paste
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1 can chicken broth (unless boiling down a chicken carcass)
• Water (Water + chicken broth = 4 C liquid)
• Salt and Pepper
• Grated Cheddar
• Guacamole
• Sour Cream
• Possibly Cream Cheese
• Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

Cook meat in crock pot w/ minimal water until tender (a few hours for most meat, but at least overnight if you are cooking down bones).  Combine meat, onion, taco seasoning, ranch mix, tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, pinto beans, chicken broth, and water (the water that you cooked the meat in counts!) in crock pot.  Cook on low >6 hours, stirring occasionally.  If a creamy soup is desired, stir in 4-8 oz cream cheese or 1/2 – 3/4 C sour cream for the last 15 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Top with grated cheddar, sour cream, and guacamole.  Serve with tortilla chips.

 

Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 six oz can tomato paste
• 12 oz water
• 1/3 C vegetable oil (possibly olive oil…NO canola oil, it would be really gross, I promise)
• 1 T white sugar
• 1 t garlic salt
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1/4 t basil
• 1/4 t oregano
• 1/4 t Italian seasoning
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• Parsley

Combine all ingredients in large pot and slowly bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 1.5 – 2 hours.  DO NOT use a crock pot.  This recipe just turns out really weird in a crock pot.  I don’t know why.  Serve with spaghetti noodles and mushrooms sauteed in butter/margarine and garlic salt.  Other uses include lasagna, chicken parmageane, and homemade pizza.