Pizza Lasagna

Adapted from here.

I've made these Lasagna roll-ups several times now. I find them easier than a regular lasagna. I love that you don't have to slice the finished lasagna; a nice serving size roll is just sitting waiting for you. And my picky kids love these too! The pepperoni is so much easier than browning sausage or ground beef. And if you are like me and have more energy in the morning, you can prep these ahead of time and just stick them in the oven an hour before dinner!

Ingredients
12 Lasagna Noodles, cooked, drained and laid out on parchment paper
1 (16oz) jar of your favorite pizza sauce
1 egg
1 (15oz) container of ricotta cheese
1 1/2 C mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 C grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 Tbs dried parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper
pepperoni (50-60 slices)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 inch pan and spread a bit of the pizza sauce on the bottom to prevent sticking.

In a medium bowl, mix together the egg, ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, parsley, and black pepper. Spoon the cheese mixture over the lasagna noodles, using about 2 Tbs of the mixture per noodle.

Place 4-5 pepperoni slices on each lasagna strip.

Roll up the lasagna noodles, starting from a short end. Place seam side down in the prepared 13x9 dish.

Spread remaining pizza sauce on top of the rolls. Make sure to cover the noodles to prevent them from drying out in the oven. Top with remaining 1/2 C mozzarella and 1/4 C of grated Parmesan.

 Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes, removing foil for the last 10-15 minutes so the cheese can brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

This is a delicious alternative to twice-baked potatoes. While this is faster and easier than the real thing, the flavor is the real deal.

Recipe Source

Ingredients:
2 lbs of potatoes peeled and diced
2 Tbs of butter/margarine
1/2 C sour cream
1 C of shredded cheese
2 Tbs bacon bits
garlic salt
pepper

Directions:
Boil potatoes 20 minutes until tender. Mash with butter and sour cream. Add garlic salt, pepper, and other desired spices to taste. Layer half of the potato mixture in a 9x9in pan. Spread the cheese over it and top with the remaining potato mixture. Sprinkle with bacon bits. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

 This has been my go to breakfast for dinner lately. It is easy to put together in the morning and then forget about until dinner time. Or if you want it for breakfast, put it together at night and wake up to a hot meal!

Recipe and Photo Source

Ingredients:
1 lb of breakfast meat (ham, bacon, OR sausage), cooked
1 small onion, diced
1 small bell pepper, diced
16 oz of frozen hash browns
3/4 cup of cheese (we use cheddar)
6 eggs
1/2 C milk
green onions (optional)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Grease your crockpot. Layer half of your ingredients starting with meat, then onion, pepper, hash browns, and cheese. Repeat the layers and top with green onion. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Pour over the layered ingredients making sure everything gets wet. Cook on low for 7 hours. I enjoy eating mine with salsa!

Lentil Tacos

These lentil tacos are a great meatless substitute for the real thing. Just be sure you cook the lentils long enough. The original recipe said 20-30 minutes, which might work well at low altitudes but I had much better success cooking them for 45-55 minutes.

 

Recipe and Photo Source

Ingredients:
1 tsp oil
2/3 C finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2/3 C of lentils, rinsed
1 Tbs taco seasoning
1 2/3 C of chicken or vegetable broth
2/3 C salsa

Directions:
 Heat oil in a skillet. Cook and stir onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Add lentils and taco seasoning. Stir and let cook for about 1 minute. Cover lentils with broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until the lentils are fully cooked, about 45 minutes.

Uncover and cook until the mixture is slightly thickened; about 6-8 minutes. Gently mash the lentils and stir in salsa. Serve with all your favorite taco fixings.

Chicken Ranch Pizza

I love pizza. I rarely digress from the red-sauce pepperoni type because why change something that is perfect? But here was a rare occasion where I decided to test out a ranch chicken pizza. I thought it looked beautiful but I have a cold and couldn't really taste it very well. However, my husband says it is the first white-sauce pizza he has ever liked and he ate 5 slices so it must be tasty, right?

I doubled this recipe to get two medium sized pizzas. I was in the mood for a thinner crust than usual so I only made 3/4 of the dough recipe.

Doesn't it look so colorful?

Ingredients:
Ranch dressing
1/2 batch of pizza crust
3/4  C shredded mozzarella cheese
½ grilled chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tomato, seeded and diced
2-3 green onions, chopped
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat your oven and pizza stone to 450. Roll out the pizza dough onto a sheet of parchment paper (if you don't have a pizza peel this is the best method. You can just slide the pizza and parchment onto the pizza stone then slide it back off when it is done). Spread a layer of ranch dressing on your dough. Sprinkle on mozzarella cheese, chicken, tomato, and green onions. Top with the shredded cheddar. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Makes 1 medium-to-large pizza
Recipe Source

Best Pizza Crust

My family has used this pizza crust recipe for years. Every time I branch out and try something different, I end up returning to this recipe for several reasons. First, it is quick. The dough only has to rise for 30 minutes. Most other crust recipes that actually taste good require hours of rising (some even 24 hours of slow rising in the fridge!). Those are yummy crusts but a whole lot more work for not so much extra taste. This dough is delicious. And easy. Thus a staple.

Ingredients:
4 C flour
2 C warm water
2 Tbs instant yeast
1/3 C sugar
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Mix all ingredients until a sticky dough is formed. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes. Working with 1/2 the dough at a time, turn out onto a floured area and knead (it is usually pretty sticky so I sometimes sprinkle enough extra flour on top to make it workable). Roll the dough to desired size depending on your preferred crust thickness (dough will rise a bit in the oven). Bake 15 to 18 minutes at 375 or for an even better pizza use a pizza stone at 450-500 and bake for 8-10 minutes.


Makes 2 large thick crust pizzas

Chicken Teriyaki

This is a simple but tasty recipe for chicken teriyaki.

Ingredients:
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C soy sauce
6 Tbs apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
Chicken
4 1/2 tsp cornstarch
4 1/2 tsp water

Directions:
Mix first 6 ingredients together and pour over chicken breast you have placed in a crock pot. Cook until chicken is done. Remove chicken and shred. Pour sauce into medium pot and bring to boil. Add cornstarch and water. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened. Serve chicken over rice and pour sauce on top.

Shepherd's Pie

I made this casserole for some friends who came over for a game night last week. It is great when you want a casserole a bit different from the chicken and pasta ones.

Here is the original recipe. (And I borrowed their picture)

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1-2 C vegetables (I used fresh carrots and frozen peas), chopped

1 1/2 - 2 lbs of potatoes (I usually go for the max because I like lots of mashed potatoes on top)

8 Tbs of butter, divided

1/2 C beef broth

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

salt, pepper, garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Boil the potatoes to prepare them for mashing. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and begin sauteing the onions. As the onions cook, add the other vegetables according to cook time (I waited to add the peas until after the meat was browned).

Add ground beef and cook until brown. While it cooks, add salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of garlic powder. You can drain the grease or add some flour for thickening into a gravy. When the meat is brown, add 1/2 C beef broth and simmer for 10 minutes while you prepare the potatoes.

Mash the potatoes with remaining 4 Tbs of butter. Season to taste.

Move meat and vegetables to a 13x9 baking dish. Spread potatoes on top. Use a fork to add texture to the potatoes if they are very smooth. This will form peaks that will brown nicely in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes until the potatoes begin to brown.

Creamy Crockpot Potato Soup

My friend told me about this indulgent soup. It is so creamy, I love it! A great comfort food for winter. The original recipe called for frozen hash-browns but I used fresh potatoes I shredded in my grater and it turned out lovely. I also added a few carrots we had in the fridge.

Original Recipe
Ingredients:
5 peeled, shredded potatoes (or you can use a 30oz bag of shredded hash-browns, frozen)
3 cups of chicken boullion
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 C onion, chopped
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 8oz package of cream cheese

Directions:
Mix everything but the cream cheese in the crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-6 hours. When you have about 1 hour left, add the cream cheese. Make sure you stir it thoroughly before serving. Top with green onions and cheddar cheese if desired.

Skillet Lasagna

My sister recommended this recipe to me. It is a lasagna you cook in a skillet. It was easy and tasty. I was worried it would be too tomato-ey but it tasted like a lasanga to me. And it doesn't call for any meat but I bet you could add some if you felt in the mood - however I didn't even miss it in this dish. So cheesy and delish.

Here is the original recipe. I modified it a bit to this:

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tsp basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
About 6 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into pieces and cooked
2 tablespoons parsley (dried or fresh)

Directions:
Heat the oil and cook the onions until tender. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, sauce, basil, pepper and salt. Cook about 5 minutes, until thickened a bit. Stir in the cooked noodles. Spoon on ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Let cheese melt. Stir in parsley and serve. 

Pasta Salad

I was in the mood for a cold salad. Unfortunately, we did not have any lettuce/spinach in the house at the time. However, I threw this together and was quite satisfied. I didn't really measure the ingredients but you can easily throw things in until it "looks right".

Ingredients:

Bow-tie pasta

Frozen Mixed Vegetables

Ranch Dressing

Garlic Powder

Bacon crumbles

Directions:

Cook the pasta to al-dente. Drain and cool. Mix in frozen vegetables, enough ranch dressing to moisten noodles, 1 tsp garlic powder, and bacon crumbles. Stir gently and refrigerate. Serve cold. Add more ranch as needed.

Spinach Chicken Salad

This is one of my favorite summer dishes.

Ingredients:
2 C cooked, cubed chicken
2 C grape halves
1 package of spinach leaves
2 C sliced celery
1 package of corkscrew pasta, cooked and drained
1/2 cucumber, sliced
3 green onions, sliced

Dressing:
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 C sugar
2 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley

Directions:
Toss all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar; mix well and refrigerate. Just before serving, pour dressing over salad and toss.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

My neighbor made this for us after we brought our baby home. It was delicious. I made it for dinner yesterday. I am turning into a big crockpot fan! So quick and easy but then you actually have a nice home cooked meal at the end of the day.

This is kind of like a Hawaiian haystack with a Mexican twist.

Ingredients:
2-4 Chicken breasts
seasonings for chicken (I used Mrs. Dash but you could use anything, salt pepper, or garlic powder)
1 can black beans (drained)
15 oz salsa
1 can corn (drained)
8 oz cream cheese

Directions:
Put blackbeans and half of salsa in crockpot. Put chicken on top, seasoned as you will. Pour remaining salsa on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and add corn and cream cheese. Cook on high for 30 minutes. Serve over rice. Leftovers can be eaten in a tortilla with tomatoes and lettuce.

I was going to half this recipe and cook it in a smaller receptacle like the barbecue chicken. But I had two large chicken breasts frozen together and didn't know what to do with half a can of black beans and corn so I just made the whole thing. It looks like it would probably freeze well though so if you don't like to eat leftovers for a week you could try that.

Crockpot Barbecue Chicken

Here is a deliciously simple recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I was a little wary of adding the italian dressing to it but it turned out absolutely wonderful.

Stick it in the crockpot and enjoy a few hours later. Works great with my bread machine hamburger buns.

I always get so excited to eat, I forget pictures! So I took one from allrecipes.

Since there are only two of us to eat, I like to be stingy on the meat to make our food budget last longer. However, our crockpot is quite large so I often burn whatever food I put in it because there is not enough. This time, I learned that you can put a smaller oven safe dish inside the crockpot and cook successfully in that. It was great! I put a little ceramic bowl in an covered it with foil to keep the moisture inside. My chicken cooked perfectly.Ingredients:
One large chicken breast
1/3 bottle of barbecue sauce
1/4 C italian salad dressing
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs soy sauce

Directions:
Put the chicken breast in the small container inside your crockpot. Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover with foil. Cook on low for five hours. Open up crockpot and shred chicken with a fork. Cover and cook one more hour. Serve on buns.

This recipe makes a small amount - only two servings. It can easily be adjusted for larger groups.

Mexican Lasagna

This one I am proud of because I made it up myself. Okay, so maybe it isn't that hard to make a taco casserole but hey, you've got to start somewhere.

Ingredients
Tortillas
1 can black beans
1 1/2 C rice (uncooked measure)
1 lbs ground beef
1 C salsa
1 packet (3 Tbs) Taco Seasoning
Cheddar Cheese

Directions
Cook the rice as you normally would. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef and add the packed of taco seasoning and 2/3 c of water (or whatever it says on your packet). Let this simmer for a few minutes. Then add the rinsed and drained can of black beans, letting them heat up with the taco meat.

When the rice is done, add the salsa and mix together.

Line the bottom of the casserole with tortillas. Put down a layer of rice, then meat/beans, then sprinkle some cheese. Cover with another layer of tortillas. Layer on the rest of the ingredients in the same order.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly. Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

Chicken Pot Pie

Another frozen meal I made for my mom was a chicken pot pie. I usually make the Bisquick version but decided that the crust would be really soggy and might not work well frozen.

I usually am a purist and like to make everything from scratch. I have tried many pie crust recipies but simply never get the amazing flaky and delicious results of store bought crusts. So this time, I decided to try the Krusteaz Pie Crust mix where you just add water. LOVE IT! It was inexpensive and the crust was grand. Jeff and I liked it much better than the Bisquick filling which gets soggy. Plus it was really easy.

Okay, here is my recipe:

1-2 Cups Cooked, Cubed chicken (depending on how big of a dish you are making)
2 Cups of frozen vegetables, thawed (or fresh if you have them on hand)
1 Can cream of chicken soup
1 pie crust

Mix the first three ingredients and put in casserole dish. Cover with the pie crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

To freeze: Freeze before baking for one hour. Remove from freezer and wrap with freezer wrap. When ready to eat, remove from freezer one and a half hours before cooking time to thaw. Cover edges of pie crust with foil to prevent over browning. Bake at 450 degrees for 1 hour and 15 min or until crust is brown and mixture inside is hot.

*note: if using potatoes in pie, do not freeze. Texture will be unpleasant.*

This is a great quick meal you can prepare any day. On days when you have more time and/or produce, use the fresh stuff because if takes the pie to a whole new level.

Pizza Casserole

For my mother's birthday this year, I decided to make her a few frozen meals. This way, she could just pull something out of the freezer but still enjoyed the homemade goodness of it. I, of course, doubled all the recipes so I could try out the food first and make sure it tasted good.

This pizza casserole tasted similar to one my family used to make growing up. However, we made that casserole without meat and this one has ground beef in it. So I imagine if you are in a vegetarian mood, this would turn out just find without the beef. If I were to change anything about the recipe, I would layer it. Put cheese and pepperoni in between layers of pasta, instead of just on top.

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 pkg (8oz) spiral pasta
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz pepperoni

Directions:
Prepare pasta as directed on pacakage. Meanwhile, brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Drain fat. Once noodles are cooked and drained, add them and the spaghetti sauce to the meat. Put contents in a 13x9 casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and pepperoni. (Alternately, put half of contents in a 13x9 dish, sprinkle with cheese and pepperoni, add the rest of the pasta and put on another layer of cheese and pepperoni.)

If you wish to freeze, allow to cool and then cover and freeze. Let thaw in fridge overnight. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

If you do not want to freeze it, simple put in the oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Baked Pork Chops

Kudos to Nana for this recipe. I usually have a hard time deciding what to do with my pork chops so I quite enjoyed this dish, which gave them flavor and tenderness.

Ingredients:
1 envelope of dry onion soup mix
1 Tbs crispy fried onions
3/4 Tbs flour
1-2 tsp Garlic Salt or your choice of seasoning
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 egg
Pork Chops

Directions:
Combine the first five ingredients in a gallon ziploc bag. Beat egg and dip the pork chops in it to coat. Put pork chops, one at a time, into bag and shake to coat. Place on greased baking dish and bake in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn the pork chops and bake for another 20 minutes. If desired, place about 1 tsp of margarine on chops when turning. When done baking, let stand for a few minutes and then serve.

Italian Chicken in the Crock Pot

This is one of my favorite crock pot recipes. It is so easy and yet tastes so delicious, I just love it.

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 Envelope Good seasons Italian dressing mix
1 C water
8 oz. cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup

Directions:
Place chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Mix water and the dressing mix. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 3 hours. Then mix the cream cheese and soup. Pour over the chicken and cook until the chicken is done. Use a fork to shred the chicken and serve over rice or pasta.


Sorry no pictures....I made this with chicken thighs and bones and it came out a bit too watery and not very pretty looking. So stick with boneless chicken breasts.

Creamy Vegetable Soup

We had a lot of produce from the grocery store so I decided to put it to good use in a soup. This is a great tasting soup. Don't leave out the rosemary - it adds that perfect flavor to the entire dish.

Ingredients:
3 1/2-4 C water
3 potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 tsp salt
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1/4 onion
1 cube beef bouillon
1 10.75 oz can of cream of chicken
1/4 Tbs parsley
1/2 Tsp garlic powder
black pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp rosemary

Directions:
Boil potatoes in water until tender - about 10-15 min. Add carrots, celery, onion, salt, and beef bouillon. Boil until vegetables are cooked. Turn down heat and add the cream of chicken, parsley, garlic powder, pepper, and rosemary. Stir and heat through.