Calzones

I needed to use up some of my extra meatballs and pizza dough so I made these calzones.

Calzones

Pizza dough (one crust)

Meatballs

Mozzarella

Parmesan

Italian Seasoning

Bake @ 400 for 20-30 minutes

Marinara Sauce

Diced Tomatoes

Tomato Sauce

Italian Seasoning

Garlic (minced or powder)

Basil

Oregano

Mix all together and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Split the dough into 4 parts, and roll out

Put meatballs down, Mozarella, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning over the top.

Fold the dough over, brush with olive oil or egg wash. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and Italian Seasoning. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

1 Butternut Squash

1 Onion, med sized, chopped or pureed

1 Carrot, normal size, chopped pureed

Chicken broth or boullion

Garlic, minced or powder

Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Olive Oil

Parsley (optional)

I only cut the squash into halves, but I would recommend cutting into 4ths for faster cooking time. I just stuck in the microwave on a plate until it was soft enough to scoop out with a spoon, but you can roast in the oven too.

I started out by cooking the Olive Oil, Carrots, and Onion

Added 5-6 tsp of Chicken Base and water. (Water will depend on how soupy you want your soup, I like mine on the thick side) Then add Garlic, Pepper, and a little Cayenne.

Add the Squash, let simmer and then beat with a whisk, or with a hand blender

Sprinkle in some dried parsley, stir in for a few minutes serve with breadsticks.

Breadsticks

This is Julie's recipe for pizza dough and we ended up using to make breadsticks. It works great either way!

Pizza Dough/ Breadsticks

2 crusts

1 T Yeast

2 c Warm Water

3 T Cornmeal

1 T Olive Oil

1 T Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Granulated Garlic (or Garlic Powder, or Garlic Salt)

1 t Salt

Flour

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let sit for about 5 minutes (I forgot to get cornmeal, so mine doesn't have that)

Start adding the flour

Add Flour until you have a soft dough, knead about 5-10 minutes. Let raise until double. I'll just go ahead and add that I'm horrible about letting it raise the amount of time it needs too.

Spread some olive oil on a pan with basting brush

Split the dough in half and form a ball (you can put the other half in the fridge to use later, or make a pizza with it.) ;-)

Roll out on a pan and then cut with pizza cutter

Mix some olive oil (or melted butter), parmesan, and garlic salt (parsley optional) in a bowl

Spread over the top of dough with a brush and then let rise for about 10-15 minutes. (I didn't have time and you can tell in my pictures. Hee.) They still taste good though.

Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until golden brownish, pull out and spread more olive oil, parmesan, garlic salt on top of warm breadsticks.

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Ok, I'll admit it, I was a little hesitant to try this, but I'm glad I did because it was REALLY good. :-)

Spaghetti Squash Spagetti

Spaghetti Squash

Tomato Sauce

Couple of Tomatoes

Ground Beef or Meatballs

Basil

Oregano

Italian Seasoning

Pepper

Cayenne

Onion and Garlic Powder

Sour Cream

Parmesan

Start by cutting your squash in half, you can either cook it in an oven for about an 45-60 min at 350 ish, or put it on a plate and stick in the microwave for around 15 min.

I tried one half this way, in a baking dish, with a little water, covered in plastic and it didn't get done any faster than the squash I just set on a plate and stuck in the microwave for 15 minutes.

Mix the seasonings (lots of Basil, Italian Seasoning, some Oregano, Onion and Garlic powders, a little Cayenne to give it a kick)

Add a couple of Tomatoes, I just pulled these out of my freezer so I didn't cut them up very well.

Cook down, and then sprinkle some Parmesan in

After the Spaghetti Squash is done cooking (soft and easy to scoop out with a spoon) put in a bowl

Add some meatballs to your sauce, or cooked ground beef, add a dollop of Sour Cream and mix in.

Serve over the top of your squash.

Double K Grilled Salmon

Adapted from Taste of Home. Cary said this has been his favorite salmon (that I've cooked) so far, but it could just be that I'm actually getting better at cooking fish. ;-)

Double K Grilled Salmon

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons unsweetened pineapple juice
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 salmon fillet (2 pounds)

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Pour 3/4 cup into a large resealable plastic bag; add salmon. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1 hour, turning occasionally. Set aside remaining marinade for basting.

Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Drain and discard marinade. Place salmon skin side down on rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade. Grill 15-20 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Yield: 8 servings.
I just pan fried them and them warmed them in the cooked marinade

Lemon Oregano Chicken w/ Feta

Lemon Oregano Chicken w/ Feta

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Lemon Juice

Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper

Oregano, dried

Feta cheese

Mix everything into a bowl, except the Feta. Let marinate for atleast an hour.

Place on a baking sheet or dish and bake at 375 for about 15-20 minutes or until the juices run clear

Sprinkle Feta cheese on top and then stick back in the oven for a few minutes

Salsa - The Lazy Way

I got this recipe from my sister and last fall I would make double batches of this stuff and we were eating it like crazy up until I got morning sickness, and then anytime anyone even mentioned the word "salsa" it would send me into gagging, dry heaving fits. I was finally ready to make this and eat it again, this week.

Salsa

1 can Rotel Tomatoes with Chiles (or Peppers)

1 can Rotel Tomatoes/ Lime and Cilantro

1 little can of Tomato Sauce (the tomato sauce with Basil, Oregano and Garlic is good!)

1/2 Onion (yellow or white)

Lime Juice (Juice of 2-3 Limes)

Pinch of Kosher salt

One bunch of Cilantro

If you want it even spicier, you could throw a jalepeno in there. Put the can of tomatoes and chiles with the onion and chop up in the blender. Add everything else and mix in blender to the chunkiness you desire. Cary likes his thick and chunky, I like mine really blended, and since I'm the one making it, I win. :-)

I didn't want to pull my big blender out so I blended everything separately

Then mixed together in a bowl.

Rice Chicken Casserole

Just a good dish for getting rid of leftovers. :-)

Rice Chicken Casserole

Chicken, cooked and cubed (or shredded)

Rice, cooked  (I used brown rice)

Vegetables, cooked or frozen

Cream of Chicken

Cheese, grated

I spiced it up with Paprika and Cayenne pepper and Onion Powder.

Mix the chicken

Rice and Vegetables

Add Spices, Cream of Chicken and one can of water (if needed). I also threw in some flaxseed. :-) Bake at 350 until bubbly, about 25-30 minutes

Put the cheese on top and back in oven long enough to melt the cheese.

Lactation/ Oatmeal Cookies

Okay, so really this is supposed to be a snack for women that are nursing to help boost their supply and give them nutrients, but I thought these were awesome enough to post so that everyone can enjoy them. They are addicting and I couldn't stop eating them.....wait, maybe that's why you SHOULDN'T make them, but they have flaxseed in there so they have to be good for you, right?! I didn't put the brewers yeast in there because I was too lazy to run the heatlh food store running out of time. I also used toffee bits and butterscotch chips, because my baby doesn't like me to eat chocolate.

Lactation Cookies

1 C Butter

1 C Sugar
1 C Brown Sugar
4 T Water
2 T flaxseed meal (no subs)
2  Eggs
1 t Vanilla
2 C Flour
1 t Baking soda
1 t Salt
3 C Oats (not quick cooking oats)
2 C Chocolate chips (I used toffee bits and Butterscotch chips instead)
2 T Brewers Yeast or Nutritional Yeast Flakes

Preheat oven at 375.

Mix 2 T of flaxseed meal and water, set aside 3-5 minutes.

Cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs.

Stir flaxseed mix into butter mix and add vanilla.

Beat until well blended and mixture turns a pale yellow.

Mix dry ingredients, except oats and choc chips.

Add butter mix to dry ingredients.

Stir in the oats and then the choc chips.

Drop on ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake 8-12 minutes. (it took longer in mine)


"wet ingredients" mixed together

Mmmm.....toffee bits and butterscotch chips

This recipe made 30 cookies for me, but as you can see, I like mine giant sized.