Spinach, mushroom, artichoke thing...

2-3 cups sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
1 cup croutons (I use failed GF bread, and turn that into croutons)
1-2 tsp chopped fresh garlic (I use the refrigerated jr stuff that is pre-chopped)
1-2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup fresh grated romano
1 cup shredded mozzerella

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Saute mushrooms and garlic in butter, add croutons, spinach, artichokes and cheeses. Spoon into a buttered casserole dish. Beat eggs and milk, pour over vegetable mixture.

The oven was in use, so I threw this in the microwave for about 6 minutes (I think). Anyway, just cook it until the eggs are set. It was really yummy!!! To make this a main dish, you could easily add chicken.

Mexican Lasagna

1 box Tinkyada Rice Pasta Lasagna Noodles
2 cans Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup
+ 2 cans water
1 can petite diced tomato, drained
1 lb cooked chicken (shredded, chopped, etc)
1 lg can black olives sliced
1 can diced green chilies
1 brick cream cheese, softened
3 ish cups shredded sharp cheddar or a Mexican blend

Mix the chicken, chilies, black olives, tomato and cream cheese. Stir the mushroom soup with 2 cans water. Pour about a cup of soup in bottom of greased 9 x 11 baking dish. , lay 3-4 strips of uncooked lasagna noodles on top of soup Layer chicken mixture, shredded cheese and more soup, then repeat starting with noodles.

I ended up with chicken and cheese on top, so I added some more black olives and then covered with foil. Leave in fridge overnight or all day, then place in cold oven set to 325 for an hour. Cool 15ish minutes and serve. ( don't preheat the oven is what that means!)

I wanted to add some fresh sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper and corn and etc., BUT children would not go near this if I did. SO, please add it to yours if you make this. I am going to saute some veggies on the side and serve it with mine and Sean's. Hooligans will get canned green beans, yum!

*****Ok, I made this over the weekend, I loved it , Olivia loved it, and a few others tolerated it, of course David thought it was gross, but he's at that point in life....OY! Anyway...I would not use as much water, maybe just a half can less. Otherwise I really liked it, I, of course, sprinkled MORE cheese on top of mine and served it with lettuce, tomato and all that jazz. It was great the next day, but lasagna is always better the next day in my opinion.......I think Sean would have liked it better if I had used less water and more cheese overall, so will try that again...let me know if you do anything different***

Spinach Salad

1 shallot, peeled & quartered
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Throw it all in a small food processor and blend.

I added the red wine vinegar at the end because it was a bit too sweet for my taste. But you can adjust any of the ingredients according to your tastes. Onion would work in place of the shallot, more or less sugar, any flavor vinegar really.......have fun.

Toss it with fresh spinach, sliced egg, bacon and tomato. yummy!!

Chicken Taco Soup

1 large can of chicken
1 can Mexicorn
1 can diced new potatoes
1 small can diced green chilies
1 cup shredded carrots
1 pkt Ranch dressing mix (McCormick makes some that is gluten free)
1 pkt chicken taco seasoning (McCormick again)
2-3 cans water
1 can Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup ( I run mine through the food processor so that there are no chunks of mushrooms for the hoodlums to pick out!!)

Pour it all in a big pot on the stove and bring to a simmer, let simmer for 20ish minutes till flavors are all yummy. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some crushed Frito's on top.....YUM!!!!

This was fabulous. We ate it ALL. No leftovers for me for lunch today. This was one of those, ok, it's time for dinner, what can I throw together meals, an experiment gone yummy!

Cornbread Muffins

these are okay. I need to play with this recipe some more, so if you do make these and they aren't perfect don't complain to me. I am warning you that they are not hte BEST corn muffins ever, the flavor is good, texture not quite right.

****UPDATE****** the next day (today) they were awesome!!! I guess they needed to sit a while, or maybe I was just realllly hungry, but they were much better today!******

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup Authentic Foods Multi Blend Flour
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream

Second batch I added these things to:

**oh, and I replaced the cornmeal with Southern Homestyle Tortilla Crumbs in the 2nd batch**
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup shredded 3 pepper cheese blend (spicy cheese!) (whatever!)

Mix all dry ingredients, if using cheese then add to dry ingredients. Mix all wet ingredients together and then stir into the dry just until moist.

Spoon into prepared muffin pans (either sprayed or lined with paper liners), bake in preheated 400 oven (convection 375) for 15-20 minutes or till toothpick poked in comes out clean!

Pork Tenderloin

I've made something similar to this with pork chops in the past, but I have a tenderloin I want to cook all day, while we run, so that it is ready when we get home tonight, so I've adapted my already adapted recipe. We shall see how this experiment turns out, but I want to post it so I don't forget what I did.

2 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
1 can petite diced tomato
1/4 cup balsmic vinegar
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil

6-8 slices bacon (I use the precooked Hormel brand, less fat to deal with, but still the flavor)
liberal amount of fresh grated Romano cheese

I browned the pork loin in a skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I placed it in a 9 x 13 baking dish, I cut a slit down the length and laid 4 slices of bacon lengthwise and then sprinkled about 1/4 cup cheese into that.

I wrapped the rest of the bacon around the tenderloin and held it in place with large toothpicks.

Mix the tomato, garlic, basil, oregano and vinegar, pour it over the tenderloin, letting the juice run in the slit. (I covered it with foil) Then bake in convection oven at 275 for 3 hours. Meanwhile, pray that it turns out tender and yummy, like the pork chops I usually do this to.


UPDATE: YUMMY!!!! It needed about another hour at 275, so when we got home, I sliced it and put it back in at 400 for about 20-30 minutes, uncovered. FABULOUS!!!! Tender, juicy and yuuuummmmmmmmmy!! Even the kids had seconds!!

Crumbled feta or some more romano would be good sprinkled on top too. YUM!!!

Swiss Chicken

This is an old favorite, that has been adapted to be GF.

1 - 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
1 can Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup
2/3 ish cup white wine (I jsut use about 1/3 of a can, from the soup can)
4-6 slices swiss cheese, any variety

Place chicken breast in baking dish, sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, whatever you are in the mood for. Place a slice of cheese on top of each breast. Mix together the soup and wine, pour over chicken. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350. Serve with rice, noodles, etc. The juice is fabulous over potatoes too.

If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can add a cup or so of sour cream to the soup/wine mixture.

Banana Pudding

Been craving this for the longest time, but it has not been easy to find GF vanilla wafers. BUT I did discover K-Toos, which are gluten free and are like an Oreo and they also come in vanilla. SO, I am trying that.

2 pkgs, Vanilla K-Toos, crushed/crumbled, etc
5-6 banana's sliced
2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1 pkg cream cheese

1 ctr Cool Whip

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, add pudding mixes and milk, beat until starting to thicken.

Layer cookies, pudding, banana's, cookie, pudding, banana's, then top with Cool Whip and leftover cookies, refridgerate and eat.

I don't like mine terribly sweet, so I did not use condensed sweetened milk like most recipes call for. IF you prefer it sweeter, then just add some to the pudding mix before layering.

I will let you know how it is...... UPDATE: IT was fabulous!!! Yummmmmmyyyyy!!!! Will definetly be making this a lot!!!

More Soups....

It's about -5 outside right now and so I made soups tonight. 2 kinds, cuz that is just how I am, plus now I don't have to make a lot tomorrow!!!
anyway....
I had some leftover shrimp from the other night and needed to use it up, so I found a couple recipes online, butchered them up really good to use what I had on hand and came up with this. It is really good!!!

1 large can tomato sauce

1 can Rotel tomato's

1 ctr (15oz) Healthy Valley Tomato Bisque

1 can corn with peppers

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

1 tsp basil ( I like to use the refrigerated stuff that comes in a jar, more like fresh, but doesn't go bad as fast)

1 tsp thyme

about 2 cups cooked shrimp, peeled, tail off, etc (I also cut mine into more bite sized pcs)

1 can crab meat, juice drained and dumped

2 cans diced clams, juice drained and reserved

Pour all the tomato products in large stockpot, add one large can of water, add rice, seasonings, clam juice and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover pot, simmer until rice is cooked. Add corn, heat through, add seafood, stir well and serve immediately.

Mine was a little thick, but I liked it that way, you could thin it with some chicken broth or V-8 juice if you want. I would have used V-8 if I'd had any anyway, but was out and NOT going to the store to get it.

Some fresh cilantro would be good in this too, my leftover shrimp had fresh cilantro on it, so there happened to be some in my soup by default.

Mushroom & Potato Soup

This one turned out totally different than I expected, but it was awesome. Has a smokey flavor from the bacon, that I guess I just didn't think about before I tasted it.

6-7 slices Hormel precooked bacon, cut into bite size pcs.

1-2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

drizzle or 2 of olive oil

1 can diced new potato's, plus 2 cans of water

1 1/2 tsp Better Than Boullion Chicken flavor

2 cups shredded potatoes (those refrigerated bagged kind)

1 can Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup

Fresh shredded Mozzerella cheese for garnish.

Saute the mushrooms in the olive oil, add bacon while sauteing. Add diced potatoes, 2 cans water, chicken boullion and shredded potatoes. Heat well, then add the cream of mushroom soup, stir well and serve with mozzerella on top.

spaghetti squash

SO we all see these things in the grocery store and wonder what in the world to do with it. Well, my mom (image that) got me started on trying to find some great recipes using this crazy thing.

I've done several things that have been good, but the dish I made last night was fabulous, so I am sharing...not sure what to call it though...suggestions are welcome.

Jen's Spaghetti Squash with Sundried Tomato Pesto and Feta Cheese

1 large spaghetti squash

1 lb ground turkey breast

1/2 cup (or so) sundried tomato pesto

1 ctr feta cheese (I happened to have a garlic and basil flavored variety on hand, so that is what I used)

fresh romano or asiago cheese for garnish

1. poke a couple holes in squash with knife, be careful though, these things are HARD.... then put it in the microwave for 6-10 minutes, depending on size, micro power, etc. This is just to soften the squash so you can cut it in half lengthwise. Once it is soft enough to cut, do so in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds and pulp in the center.

Place the squash, cut side down, in a large dish with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom, cover with wrap and plac eback in microwave for 8-12 minutes, or until squash is very tender and you can use a fork to pull the strand out. They trully look like strands of spaghetti.

2. While you are waiting for the squash to do its thing, saute the ground turkey in a teeny bit of olive oil until well cooked.

Stir in the pesto and then toss with the spaghetti squash and feta cheese.

Serve with freshly grated or shaved cheese. mmmmmm..it was sooo yummy!!!

You could place this in a casserole dish and throw it in the oven for a bit if needed, but please cover it or it will dry out...blech!!