Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Beef and Vegetable Cheese Casserole



So this is another Weight Watcher's recipe. Stay away if your "light" phobic.

Ingredients
1 sprays cooking spray
2 medium tomato(es), sliced
2 medium zucchini, sliced
12 oz raw lean ground beef
1 large onion(s), finely chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 cup canned tomato sauce
2 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1 large egg yolk(s)
1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp parsley, oregano or rosemary, chopped
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 500ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread tomatoes and zucchini over sheet. Roast vegetables for 10 to 12 minutes.
Meanhwile, in a large, nonstick skillet, sauté beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned. Stir in tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.
Spread beef mixture in a large, shallow baking dish (3 quart or 9 X 13-inches) and top with roasted vegetables. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF.
Whisk together cottage cheese, egg yolk, cheddar cheese, herbs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Spoon over roasted vegetables and smooth with a rubber spatula.
Bake until very hot and bubbling around edges, about 35 minutes. Cut into six equal pieces and serve immediately. (Note: If preparing casserole in advance and freezing it, make sure to thaw it completely in the refrigerator before baking it. Increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.)

Chessy Chili Mac

I've been trying out a bunch of new Weight Watcher recipes and this one passed the test for good for you and still tastes great. So if your not afraid of something "light" it's worth a try.
Ingredients
1 sprays cooking spray
2/3 pound raw extra lean ground beef
2 medium onion(s), chopped
29 oz canned stewed tomatoes, Mexican-style (undrained)
2 1/2 cup canned tomato juice
4 oz canned green chili peppers, diced, drained
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 cup uncooked macaroni, elbow
31 oz canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Cook ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until meat is browned, about 10 minutes; drain off fat.
Stir in undrained stewed tomatoes including juice, tomato juice, chili peppers and chili powder; bring mixture to a boil.
Stir in macaroni and beans; return to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until macaroni is tender, about 15 minutes. Spoon chili into bowls and sprinkle with cheese. Yields about 1 cup of chili and 1 tablespoon of cheese per serving.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chip Cookies


I got this off of the Christensen blog, and I love this recipe.

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 bag chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375.

Beat sugars, butter, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl with electric mixer. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough into balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown, golden on the edges. Cool on wire rack.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Spinach Dip







1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
10 oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed and patted dry)
1 package vegetable dip mix (Liptons or Knorrs)

Mix all together and serve with bread, crackers or vegetables.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Sylvia's Pizza Dough and Sauce


This is Trent's Mom's recipe. She said it is also a French bread recipe and will make two loaves. It makes a large pizza, but actually it ends up being a pretty thick crust. You could roll it thinner and probably make two medium pizzas.

5-6 cups flour
1 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups warm water

In kitchen aid put 4 cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar, salt, and water. Blend well, until smooth. Add the remaining flour once cup at a time until you have a medium soft dough. Knead in your mixer until it is smooth-about 8 minutes. Cover with a dish towel, and allow to rise until double-about 1 hour. Punch down and let rise for 10 minutes. Cover pizza stone with corn meal. Shape pizza to fit your round or rectangular pizza stone. Prick pizza dough several times with a fork. Then spread a thin layer (about 1 Tbsp) of olive oil over dough. Spread about 3/4 cup pizza sauce over dough. Place in preheated oven (400 degrees), and bake for about 10 minutes. At this point you can make the dough ahead of time, and add everything else (toppings) later when you're ready to eat. Sprinkle a lot of mozzarella cheese on top, then top with clean spinach leaves, chopped green pepper, sliced tomatoes, sliced zucchini, marinated artichoke hearts, etc. Sprinkle some salt over top and bake for about 15 minutes.

Pizza Sauce

2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Dash pepper
1 tsp basil
1-2 Tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Place all of the above in a medium saucepan and blend well. Heat on medium for about 15-20 minutes. There will be a lot left over. She puts it in small jars in the freezer until next time. I usually just half the recipe.

Alterations
I use this same dough recipe, but make a bbq chicken pizza. Just make the dough, but add bbq sauce, cooked chicken, mozzarella chicken, and red onion (optional).

Chicken Tenders with Dipping Sauce



This is Carol Peterson's recipe from the cooking classes she does in our ward. I love, love, love these. The sauce is really good, too. It's also good with bbq sauce.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper
4 cups crisp rice cereal (rice chex)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders (I just cute up chicken breasts into nugget size pieces)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place flour in a shallow bowl, and egg in a second bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse cereal and oil in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a third shallow bowl.

Coat chicken; first in flour; shaking off excess; then with egg, letting excess drip off; and finally in cereal mixture, pressing to help it adhere. Place on a baking sheet, and bake until light golden brown and cooked through, 10-15 minutes, turning over halfway through.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together sour cream, mustard, and honey; season with salt and pepper. Serve tenders with creamy honey mustard dipping sauce.

Grandma's Banana Bread



2 eggs
1 square margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
Dash of salt
3 large ripe bananas

Mix margarine and sugar. Add eggs. Put in 1 cup of flour and 1/2 the mashed bananas and mix. Then add remaining flour, soda, salt and bananas and mix. Put into greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for approximately 40-45 minutes. Insert toothpick in center to see if it is done.