Noodles with Lime Peanut Sauce

Found recipe here - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/aromatic-noodles-with-lime-peanut-sauce-recipe/index.html

Jack really liked this sauce and it's a good meatless meal!

• 3/4 pound spaghetti
• 2 cups (about 9 ounces) broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 scallion, cut into pieces
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more if you'd like)
• 1/2 cup shelled unsalted peanuts (I didn't have any)

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of water according to the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water. While the pasta is cooking put the broccoli in a steamer basket over a large pot of boiling water and steam it for 3 minutes.

Toast the peanuts in a dry pan over a medium heat until they become fragrant, about 3 minutes. Set them aside to cool. Make the sauce by pureeing the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, scallion, ginger, sugar and red pepper flakes in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Right before serving, toss the pasta with 3/4 cup of the peanut sauce. Divide into 6 serving bowls and top each serving with the vegetables. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the vegetables. Coarsely chop the peanuts, sprinkle them on top and serve.

Cranberry Spinach Salad

Found recipe here -

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jamies-cranberry-spinach-salad/detail.aspx

I wanted a simple, light summer salad for dinner and this worked great. I served with baked potatoes.

• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
• 1/2 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (I actually didn't have any and it still worked great)
• 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced onion (I used dried onion flakes)
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/8 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.

Pork Chops

I grew up with my mom making these kind of pork chops which may be why I like them so much. Sometimes Jack thinks it tastes bitter, this time he loved them. I'm not sure what makes the difference-the lemon or onion I use? Anyway, I always like it and it's super simple.

pork chops

lemon

onion

ketchup

brown sugar

Mix together equal parts ketchup and brown sugar. Slice your lemon and onion.

Place pork chops on baking pan (may want to put foil on bottom). Spread pork chops with a little of the ketchup mixture, put slices of lemon and onion on top and lather more of the ketchup mixture on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Take foil off and bake an additional 15.

*I need to double check with my mom on the time. I didn't write this down right away and have forgotten. Why I am making a blog with recipes, so I don't need to call my mom every time I make it! :)

Fajitas

Recipe found here - http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/beef-and-chicken-fajitas-with-peppers-onions-10000000222256/

I mentioned at the bottom of my June dinners post how I normally do fajitas. I decided to try something different. It was good, but not worth the extra effort. I'll probably stick to using the seasoning pack, but the lime juice does add a nice touch. Just squeeze that in and you're good to go! Here's the recipe anyway-

• Marinade:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14.25-ounce) can low-salt beef broth
• Fajitas:
• 1 pound skinned, boned chicken breast
• 2 red bell peppers, each cut into 12 wedges
• 2 green bell peppers, each cut into 12 wedges
• 1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, cut into 16 wedges
• Cooking spray
• 16 (6-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
• 1 cup bottled salsa
• 1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Fresh cilantro sprigs
• Preparation

To prepare marinade, combine first 10 ingredients in a large bowl; set aside.

• Combine 1 1/2 cups marinade and chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Combine remaining marinade, bell peppers, and onion in a zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
• Prepare grill.
• Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Remove vegetables from bag; reserve marinade. Place reserved marinade in a small saucepan; set aside. Place chicken and vegetables on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cook 8 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
• Wrap tortillas tightly in foil; place tortilla packet on grill rack the last 2 minutes of grilling time. Bring reserved marinade to a boil. Place the chicken and vegetables on a serving platter; drizzle with reserved marinade.
• Arrange about 1 ounce chicken, 3 bell pepper wedges, and 1 onion wedge in a tortilla; top with 1 tablespoon salsa, about 1 teaspoon sour cream, and 1/2 tablespoon cilantro. Fold sides of tortilla over filling. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired. Serve immediately.
• 

Chicken Crescent Roll-ups

This is just a recipe we had a lot growing up. I love the cans of chicken Costco sells. One of those things that is SO much cheaper at Costco and so easy. There's not a whole lot of chicken in them, but when I cook I always go light on the meat so only use half a can at a time, meaning I need to make something else soon after to use the rest of it. So with the leftover from my chicken noodle soup I made these.

Truly a simple recipe. You'll need

chicken

1/2 onion

2 stalks celery (optional)

2 oz cream cheese

butter

1can crescents

crushed croutons

Saute a small onion and celery in butter until soft. Add cream cheese and chicken then scoop into 2 crescents (shaped as a rectangle like they come when you roll them out of the can). Pull up the edges and pinch together at the top. Spread some butter atop and sprinkle with crushed croutons. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or so until golden brown.

*These also work with biscuits. In my opinion not quite as good, but you can always find biscuits for a lot cheaper. Whatever floats your boat, or fits your budget! ;)

Lasagna

Everyone probably has a lasagna recipe they love. But I'm posting all my recipes here so they're in one place. It's nothing special. I think just on the back of the box, but 1.) I never put meat in my lasagna. It tastes good, no need for the extra cost and remember, I like to go meatless sometimes. and 2.) I never pre-cook my noodles. I don't know why they tell you to, it doesn't need it.

Today, I didn't have lasagna noodles so I just used spiral pasta instead. It's all good.

noodles

spaghetti sauce

1 cup mozerella cheese

1/8 cup parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

1 egg

1/2 Tbsp fresh parsley or 1/2 tsp dried

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Mix together your cheeses, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.

Layer bottom of pan with sauce, pour noodles over it, top with cheese mixture and repeat twice. Top with sauce and sprinkle more mozerella and parmesan cheese on top.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand before cutting.

Sloppy Joes

Okay let's be honest, I never measure anything out when I make sloppy joes, but I like to use a basic outline taking a few things out of these 2 recipes - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sloppy-joes-ii/detail.aspx & http://allrecipes.com/recipe/neat-sloppy-joes/detail.aspx

I like to buy ground beef when it is on sale and then I divide it into 1 lb sections and freeze them individually in bags. Whenever I make anything with ground beef I just thaw one of my 1 lb chubs.

1 pound lean ground beef

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Brown ground beef with onion and bell pepper. Drain any excess fat. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over low heat.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Found the recipe here - http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickensouprecipes/r/r80401c.htm

This is a good basic, simple soup

• tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/8 cup fresh chopped parsley or about 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 cup diced chicken (I used half a Costco can)
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup carrots (you can use frozen or I diced some and cooked them in the microwave with water for a couple minutes)
• 3/4 cups heavy cream or half-and-half (see my substitute)
• 4 ounces medium noodles, cooked and drained
• Salt, to taste

Preparation:

In a large pot melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and celery and sauté until onion is tender. Add the parsley, chicken, chicken broth, soups, poultry seasoning, thyme, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the frozen peas and carrots, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes longer. Stir in the cream or half-and-half, along with the cooked noodles; add salt to taste. Heat through.
Serves 8.

Ranch Dressing Plus Buttermilk Substitute

I made a salad designed to be served with ranch, but found out we hardly had any Ranch left. Thank you for the age of the internet it takes just a few seconds to find a recipe.

I used one found here altered a little bit per a customer review - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/ranch-dressing-ii/detail.aspx

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon dried chives (didn't have any. Just used dried onion flakes)

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 tsp vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

It turned out pretty good and was easy enough. I didn't have buttermilk though either so did this simple substitute -

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup milk

Of course scaling down to fit my recipe's need

Sticky Chicken Salad

I got this recipe back in the day when I used to watch Good Things Utah every morning. :) It is found here -http://www.abc4.com/content/about_4/gtu/story/Sticky-Chicken-Salad/dW1h2MAgkEC1HcN8C5rtZA.cspx

I love the sauce in this recipe, it is similar to a Wingers sauce and when mixed with Ranch it is heaven! ;)

3 chicken breasts

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup bread crumbs

Dip chicken in sour cream, then in bread crumbs. Bake until crispy 20-30 minutes at 350

Sticky Dressing

2 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup franks red hot

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly, boil for only 1 minute-longer it will turn hard like candy.

lettuce

tomatoes

croutons

cheese

red onion

Ranch Dressing

Pile it and eat it up!

Black Bean Pizza

Used this recipe from a friend's facebook post-

Pizza Dough

BBQ Sauce

Black Beans

Corn

Cheese

Tomatoes

Made my pizza dough found here

Brushed some BBQ sauce on top, topped with black beans, corn, tomatoes, and cheese. Put it back in the oven 'til the cheese was melted and delicious.

I also used a crust and brushed butter and sprinkled garlic powder on it. Jack said it was the best garlic bread he has ever had. ;)

*only 5 minutes if you already have dough or put on canned biscuits, bagels, you get the idea :)

July Dinners

1-4 - out of town

5 - black bean pizza

6 - tostadas

7 - sticky chicken salad

8 - creamy chicken noodle soup

9 - sloppy joes

10 - lasagna

11 - chicken crescent roll-ups

12 - RS dinner.chicken sandwiches

13 - hamburgers-mcdonalds

14 - fajitas

15 - chicken salad sandwiches

16 - don't remember...

17-21 - out of town

22 - hamburgers.bbq

23 - jack's parents.spaghetti

24 - pork chops

25 - taco soup

26 - corn dogs.leftovers

27 - cranberry salad and baked potatoes

28 - pasta with peanut sauce and broccoli

29 - don't remember...

30 - ward party

31 - chicken & egg sandwiches. chili dogs