Swedish Meatballs

inspiration: all-recipe's.com
prep: 30 minutes
cook: 1 hour
serves: 8-10


Description: If your lucky to be near an IKEA store you can always stock up on their famous Swedish meatballs. If you're not near a store than you'll have to make them yourself. They are worth the effort and freeze really well!

 Ingredients:
2 slices day-old white bread, crumbled1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon butter
1 small onion, minced
2/3 pound ground beef
1/3 pound finely ground pork
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or as needed
2 cups beef broth, or as needed
1/2 (8 ounce) container sour cream
 1 large bag of egg noodles, cooked and rinsed. 


Directions:

1. Place the bread crumbs into a small bowl, and mix in the cream. Allow to stand until crumbs absorb the cream, about 10 minutes. 
2. While the bread is soaking, melt 1 teaspoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion until it turns light brown, about 10 minutes. 
3. Place onion into a mixing bowl; mix with the ground beef, ground pork, egg, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. 
4. Lightly mix in the bread crumbs and cream to the meat mixture.
5. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Pinch off about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the meat mixture per meatball, and form into balls.( or use a small ice cream scoop) 
6.  Place the meatballs into the skillet, and cook just until the outsides are brown, about 5 minutes, turning the meatballs often. Insides of the meatballs will still be pink. 
7. Place browned meatballs into a baking dish, pour in chicken broth, and cover with foil.
8. Bake at 350 until the meatballs are tender, about 40 minutes. Remove meatballs to a serving dish.
9. To make brown gravy, pour pan drippings into a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the flour into the pan drippings until smooth, and gradually whisk in enough beef broth to total about 2 1/2 cups of liquid. Bring the gravy to a simmer, whisking constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. 
10. Just before serving, whisk in the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. 
11. Pour the cooked and drained egg noodles into a large serving dish. Put the meatballs on top and pour the gravy over the whole dish.

Pizza Pasta

Inspiration: my fitness pal
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6-8 hours
Makes: Serves 6

Description: This was a fun dish and came out really well. The kids thought they were getting "pizza," but they were also eating mushrooms and peppers. This recipe can be adapted to any favorite pizza toppings.

Ingredients
8 oz. Italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 3/4 cups tomato sauce
1/2 can of sliced olives
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
3 cups cooked egg noodles
1 package of mini pepperoni (if use regular size cut in half)
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese


Cooking Instructions
1. In a large skillet, sprayed with olive oil cooking spray, brown meat, onion and green pepper.
2. Stir in mushrooms, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and pepperoni. 
4. Add cooked noodles to a serving bowl.
5. Add the meat mixture to the serving bowl.
6.Sprinkle cheeses on.
7.Mix  to combine and serve. 

Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs

inspiration: Giada
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
 Serves: 6-8

 Description: I got a great new cookbook this Christmas. I have already tried a few recipe's from it and am quite pleased. Here is one that was a big hit with the family that was visiting. It's fresh, colorful, and there wasn't one piece left.

1 pound orecchiette pasta
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 tablespoon ketchup
3/4 cup grated Romano
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, hot
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesean
8 ounces mozzarella, cut in bitesize pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, and the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and gently stir to combine.
3. Using a teaspoon measure, form the chicken mixture into 3/4-inch pieces. With damp hands, roll the chicken pieces into mini meatballs.
4. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown the other side, about 2 minutes longer.
5. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan.
6. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatoes are soft and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes. 7. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water.
8. Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl and add the Parmesan.
9. Toss to lightly coat orecchiette, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta.
10. Add the meatball mixture, cheese, and 1/2 cup of the basil.
11. Gently toss to combine. Garnish with the chopped basil.

Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese

Inspiration: allrecipe's
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes

Description: Macaroni and cheese is such a fun dish that can be transformed in so many different ways. My husband barbecues all the time and this is a great dish to go along with his main dishes.  Luckily, we can find chipotle cheddar cheese at our grocery store in the specialty cheese section. If not, just add chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

 Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
3 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup minced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded chipotle Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in large pot until cooked but still firm. Drain in Colander and set aside.
2.  Heat milk in a medium saucepan until hot but not boiling.
3. Melt butter in a 2nd saucepan, and cook the onions until translucent. Add the garlic.
4. Whisk in flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and let cook for about 3 minutes, whisking constantly to avoid burning. 
5. Whisk in the hot milk, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir in paprika, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer (do not boil), whisking constantly until thickened, about 2 minutes. 
6. Whisk in the cheeses, about 1/2 cup at a time, and stir until the cheeses have melted and the sauce is thick and smooth.
7. Pour the sauce over the macaroni and put in a large baking dish, and stir gently to combine.
8. If desired, add extra shredded chipotle cheese to the top. 
9. Bake covered until the dish is bubbling and the macaroni has absorbed some of the sauce, about 40 minutes. 
10. Uncover, and bake until golden brown on the edges, 10 to 15 more minutes. 

Tips and Tricks

If you can't find chipotle cheese, add 3 chopped chipotles in adobo sauce to the shredded cheese.  If you use chopped chipotles, you can decrease the spiciness by not using the chipotle seeds.

Variations

Tortellini Basil Tomato Soup

Inspiration: recipe.com magazine
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Serves: 4


Description: This dish is super super easy. We were pleasantly surprised how adding cheese tortellini dressed up a simple tomato soup.

Ingredients:

1 large family size can of tomato soup
1 large red onion
3 tbs minced garlic
1 large container of cream  (can be fat free half)
1 large container of chicken stock
1 package of basil diced
1 container of parm reg
S&P
1 package of refrigerated cheese tortellini

Directions:
1. Slice onion in long strips, saute onion and garlic until transparent in saute pan.
2. In a large soup pot, combine soup and stock, heat until warm.
3. In a second pot heat water to a full boil and add tortellini.
4. When tortellini is floating remove, drain, and set aside.
5. When the soup is warm, stir in cream, cheese, and onion to the tomato soup.
6. When soup is nice and hot, add in chopped basil and cooked tortellini.
7. Stir periodically. The soup is ready to eat when basil is wilted.
 

Lasagna Cups

Inspiration: myfitnesspal recipe index
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Serves: 12 muffin cups

Inspiration: I was browsing the recipe section of my fitness pal (food tracker) and someone had posted this meal. I thought it would be fun for the kids and I to make. It was a big hit last night and the kids did most of the work! These are much lower in carbs than traditional lasagna and still tasted fantastic.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of favorite lasagna meat (ground turkey, ground chicken, ground beef, sausage, etc)
1 cup of spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 part skim ricotta cheese
S&P
1/2 cup of Parmesan
24 wonton wrappers
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Brown meat in a large skillet over medium high heat. Drain if necessary.
2. Add spaghetti sauce to meat and stir to combine.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, S&P, Parmesan and stir to combine.
4. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray, and arrange a wonton wrapper in each cup.
5. Take half the ricotta mixture and divide it among the 12 cups.
6. Top with half of the meat sauce, and sprinkle with the shredded cheese.
7. Place another wonton wrapper over the cheese and repeat the layers.
8. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15  minutes until the cheese is melten and the wrappers are golden.
9. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Not Your Grandma's Noodle Casserole

Inspiration: grandma
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Serves: 6

Description: Many American's grew up on tuna noodle casserole. I remember my grandma making it for us regularly. I have made it here and there through the years and crave it from time to time. This version is lighter, healthier, has more veggies, but still cheesy and comforting. 

Ingredients:
 6 oz noodles
1 tbs butter
1 medium onion, minced
3 tbs flour
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of milk
10 oz of mushrooms sliced into small pieces
1 cup of peas
1 cup of broccoli, chopped
2 cans of tuna
1 cup of shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Cook noodles until al dente and set aside
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir well about 2 minutes.
4. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until well combined.
5. Add milk and bring to a boil.
6. Add peas, broccoli, mushrooms and simmer until thickens, about 6 minutes.
7. Add drained tuna and stir.
8. Remove from heat and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
9. Add the cheese, and noodles to the sauce and mix well until evenly coated.
10. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle extra cheese and panko crumbs on
top for a nice crunch
11. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Nutrition:

Calories-289

Carbs-32

Fat-9

Protein-20

Sugar-5

Fiber-4

Tips and Tricks:
chopping up the mushrooms super small will help hide them from pesky picky eaters
if tuna isn't your thing shredded chicken or canned chicken is a quick alternative

Mushroom Ravioli

inspiration: intermediate cooking series
prep: 30-45 minutes
cook: 5 minutes
serves: 8-10

Description: Homemade pasta is absolutely to die for! At the beginning it did take my husband and I a very long time to make it. But now that we have been doing it a while, (and I had a whole cooking class on pasta making) it really doesn't take much time. The hardest part is rolling out the dough. My kids and I have a system and they have become a necessary part of the process. my favorite is mushroom ravioli, but there are dozens of fillings that can be done.

                                

Ingredients:
2 cups ricotta
2 yolks
2 tbs chopped parsley
4 cloves minced garlic
1/4 c grated Parmesan (I always add more)
1/4 cup of pureed sauteed mushrooms (I used a hand chopper to get them super small) or any other meat or vegetable you want to use.


Directions:
1. Make pasta dough or buy ravioli dough. Roll the dough into flat sheets using a pasta machine. Dough should be transparent and thin.
2. Whisk stuffing ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
3. Cut or lay out the pasta sheets as desired. (see below for a visual)

This is best to make fancy pansy pretty ravioli's
cut the dough out with a nice scalloped cookie cutter
scoop the filling into the middle and with your finger
and some water seal the two pasta's together

Best for mass ravioli making.
lay sheet of pasta, put tbs of filling, lay over filling another
sheet of pasta. Cut out with knife, pasta cutter, or cookie cutter.

4.  Scoop 1 tbs of stuffing onto pasta. Seal with an egg white or water.
5. If serving soon lay ravioli's on a cookie sheet and cover with a damp towel and set in fridge.
If mass making before hand lay the ravioli's out on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When they are frozen you can put them in a ziploc and take them out as needed.
6. Gently put ravioli's into a boiling pot of water. If they are fresh try not to crowd them or they might stick together. When they float they are done. For fresh it only takes a few minutes.


Tips and Tricks
Variations: instead of mushrooms add spinach, pumpkin, roasted tomatoes, or obviously beef, pork, sausage, or anyway you like.
Wonton wrappers are also a cheap and quicker way of making ravioli.

Alfredo Sauce

inspiration: Food Network Magazine
prep: 5 minutes
cook: 10 minutes
serves: 2 cups of sauce


Description: This sauce is by far my favorite of the 5 mother sauces. It is creamy and buttery, and soooo not good on your waist line. I actually prefer to make it at home rather than ordering it at a restaurant. This one is always on the menu for a special occasion meal.

                                     

Ingredients:
1 pint heavy cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 

 black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat heavy cream over low-medium heat in a deep saute pan.
2. Add butter and whisk gently to melt.
3. Sprinkle in cheese and stir to incorporate.
4. Season with freshly cracked black pepper.
5. Add favorite pasta, ravioli or fettuccine (my favorite). 
5. Serve immediately.

Turkey Lasagna

inspiration: Barefoot Contessa
prep: 45 minutes
cook: 30 hour
 serves: 8-10



                                        
Description: This recipe has become the most requested dish I have ever done. My family likes this version   the best. I have mixed the meats in many different ways, but the original is everyone's favorite. The addition of goat cheese is....well.....genious!

Ingredients:
2 tbs oil
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 1/2 lbs turkey sausage out of casings
28oz crushed tomato in tomato puree (or whole tomatoes crushed up)
6 oz tomato paste
1/4 c chopped flat leaf parsley divided
1/2 c chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 lb lasagna noodles (use no cook ones)
15 oz ricotta cheese
4 oz creamy goat cheese, crumbled  (don't skip!!)
1 cup grated parm
1 egg beaten
1 lb fresh mozzarella thinly sliced  (or more )

Directions:
1. Cook onion,garlic, and crumbled sausage over medium heat.
2. Add tomatoes, paste, parsley, basil, S&P to pan.
3. Simmer for 20 min until  thick.
4. In bowl combine ricotta, goat cheese, parm, egg, parsley, S&P.
5. Ladle 1/3 sauce into casserole dish. Add pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and sauce. Add rest of pasta, mozz, ricotta and last of sauce. Finish with parm and mozzarella.
6. Bake 400 for 30 min, pull out when sauce is bubbling.

Beef Stroganoff

Inspiration: Intermediate cooking series
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Makes: serves 10 people

Description: This is such a classic old fashioned  dish. I made it for the first time in my cooking class. A few months later we were staying at a beach house in march (Oregon coast....so cold) This was a perfect dish to make. Warm, comforting, and yummy.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs chuck roast cut into strips 
1 c flour
1 Tbsp oil
1 onion sliced
1 lb cremini mushrooms sliced
3 garlic cloves sliced
16 oz beef stock
S&P
1 1/4 c sour cream
1 lb COOKED egg noodles

1. Season beef strips with S&P. Dust beef lightly in flour and shake off excess.
2. In dutch oven or large pot, melt butter and oil over medium high heat.
3. Brown beef on all sides, remove.
4. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms to the same pot. Cook until soft.
5. De-glaze with stock. Scrape off the bottom of pan to release the crusty bits.
6. Add browned beef back to the pot.
7. Turn heat to low, cover and let cook 1 hour until tender.
8. Once beef is tender and sauce is slightly thick turn off heat and stir in sour cream.
6. Season with S&P. Serve over cooked egg noodles.


Variations
You can use top round as an alternate beef cut

Zucchini Ribbon Pasta

inspiration: Ellie krieger
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 15
Serves: 6-8


Description: This is another great dish when there are zucchini coming out your ears. The thin strips really do trick veggie haters. I made this one time when my brother was visiting. He ate it out of politeness and was shocked at how well he liked it. He even asked for the recipe. Add a little more red pepper flakes to give it a nice kick.

                                         
Ingredients
1 lb fettuccine
2 green zucchini
2 yellow zucchini
3tbs olive oil
6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 c chicken broth
1/4 parm +
1/3 minced parsley leaves
1 c sliced basil leaves
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp pepper


Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain,
2. Ribbon the zucchini with a mandolin or potato peeler into thin strips, set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet..
4. Add garlic and cook 1 min.
4. Add zucchini ribbons cook around 3 minutes.
5. Add pasta and stock. Cook for 3 more minutes.
6. Add parmesan, parsley, basil, red pepper flakes, and pepper
7. Toss to combine. Season with Salt.

mozzarella and tomato pasta

Inspiration:Kraft foods
Prep: 10 minutes
Inactive prep: 2 hours
Cook: 10 minutes
Serves: 8+

                                                 

Ingredients:
1 package good seasons Italian salad dressing
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 lbs tomatoes (cherry, Roma, or any kind works)
1 lb pasta cooked and drained
mozzarella cheese (25 balls, or cut up cubes)
optional: fresh vegetable such as green beans, broccoli, or peas

 Directions:
1. Cook pasta to al dente, set aside, and let cool.
2. In your large serving bowl, mix dressing packet, oil, and balsamic until well blended.
3. Chop tomatoes and if needed the mozzarella and add to the serving bowl.
4. Add remaining vegetables or cooked chicken ingredients to the same bowl.
5. Finally add the pasta to the serving bowl.
6. Toss all ingredients until well blended and coated with dressing.
7. Refrigerate several hours until chilled.

Nutrition:

Calories:

263

Carbs:39

Fat:9

Protein:10 Sugar:

4

Fiber:2

Tips and Tricks:
I rarely have left overs when I take to potlucks
the longer it marinates the better it gets
add chicken for a whole meal in one

Beef Bowtie Pasta

Inspiration: Kraft foods
Prep time:15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Makes: 8+ servings

Description: This dish is great for a crowd. I like to make it when family is visiting. It's hearty on it's own and doesn't take to much time to make. The leftovers seem to get better the next day. You can easily make the noodles in a separate pot and then add them towards the end. Either way it's easy and tasty.

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1-2 can of beef broth ( I normally use more than one can)
1 cup of water
2 cups of bow tie pasta
1 cup of veggies: zucchini, squash, etc or a bag of frozen veggies
6 oz tomato paste
1 Tbs Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown meat. At the end of browning, add the garlic.
2. Add diced tomatoes, 1 can of broth, and water. Mix and bring to boil.
3. Add pasta and veggies, mix well.
4. Cover and reduce heat to medium simmer until pasta is tender.
5. Stir in tomato paste and seasonings.
6. If mixture seems dry, add more broth.
7. Taste and adjust S&P, as desired.

Tomato and Basil Tortillini Salad

inspiration:My own genius mind
prep: 5 minutes
cook: 15 minutes
serves: 6

Description:  I came up with this salad on a late weeknight when I needed to throw something together. The kids were little and well....hungry toddlers are not patient. This is quick, easy, and very tasty.
                                           

Ingredients:
1-2 large packages of frozen cheese tortellini.
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
3tbs of fresh basil or 2 tbs of dried basil
olive oil
S&P
grated parmesan


Directions:
1. Cook tortellini as directed, rinse, drain and put in large bowl.
2. Add olive oil to pasta and while hot pour in can of tomatoes with juices.
3. Add basil and S&P stir well.
4. Let juices soak into tortellini.
5. Serve with grated parmesan on top.

Triple Pepper Pasta

inspiration: kraft food
prep: 10 minutes
cook: 20 minutes
serves: 6

Description: I have been making this dish for years. It is quick, tasty, and quite pretty. Sometimes I use different noodles and will cut the peppers to match the shape and size of the noodles. If I have leftover chicken I tend to add that into the mix too.

Ingredients:
3 peppers preferably green, yellow, red; cut into strips
2-3 diced garlic cloves
2 tsp butter or oil
1 c chicken broth
1/4 c spicy brown mustard
1 box of pasta cooked and drained



Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain and in a serving bowl.
2. Saute peppers and garlic in olive oil until crisp-tender.
2. Combine broth and mustard in a small  bowl, and whisk until combined.
3. Pour the broth and mustard to peppers. Taste and alter as desired. I like it heavy on the mustard.
4. Add pepper mixture to warm pasta.
5. Toss to combine and serve.

Basil and Red pepper pasta

kraft foods
30 minutes
6+ servings

                                                 

2 cups pasta (penne works best, but I have used many types)
4 oz cream cheese (can use reduced or fat free)
1/4 c milk
1 tsp garlic salt
1 jar roasted red peppers drain (reserve juice in case you need to thin out sauce)
1/2 c fresh basil
2 tbs parm
 chicken (optional)

1. In blender place, peppers, cream cheese, milk, basil, and parm. Blend until smooth.
2. Cook pasta, drain.
3. In large bowl add pasta and sauce. S&P to taste, add in chicken and fresh basil if desired.