Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta

This is a Cooking Light recipe that I changed up a little. :-)

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
Cooking spray ( I used Olive Oil)
12 Turkey Bacon (raw)
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
8 ounces uncooked mini penne (or shell, elbow)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese (I used Extra Sharp Cheddar)
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese  (I just used regular)


Preheat oven to 425°.



Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.



Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. (Since Turkey Bacon doesn't have a lot of fat, I just cut it up and cooked it, and then used Olive oil to make the milk and flour mixture) Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.



Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.



Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tangy Parmesan Tilapia

Tangy Parmesan Tilapia

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon reduced-fat butter, softened (I used olive oil)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash onion powder
4 tilapia fillets (5 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon salt


In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients; set aside. Line a broiler pan with foil and coat the foil with cooking spray. Place fillets in prepared pan; sprinkle with salt.

Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Spread 1 tablespoon cheese mixture over the top of each fillet; broil 1-2 minutes longer or until topping is golden and fish flakes easily with a fork. Yield: 4 servings.

Chicken Fingers

I never make these the same way everytime. My favorite combo is to add ranch dressing mix and parmesan cheese to the mix, but this is just a regular recipe.

Chicken Fingers

Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

Bread crumbs

Flaxseed, ground (optional)

Salt

Pepper

Ground Red Pepper

Dry Mustard

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Egg

Milk

Flour

Mix your breadcrumbs, flaxseed, and spices together in a bowl

In another bowl mix an egg and some milk together, toss your chicken strips with flour

Dip the chicken strips into the egg/ milk mixture

then coat in the bread crumb mixture

Fry in some oil, or bake in the oven around 375 for about 15-20 minutes. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce such as BBQ, Ketchup, or Ranch dressing.

Soy and Ginger Salmon w/ Lentils and Bacon

This recipe is adapted from Food & Wine. They just had a plain roasted salmon over the lentils, but in order for me to eat (and like) salmon, I have to cover up the fish taste a little. :-)

Soy and Ginger Salmon

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) I used ground red pepper
4 6-ounce salmon fillets
 
Mix everything together and marinate for atleast 30 minutes. I pan fried.

Lentils

4 strips turkey bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 carrot, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 rib celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups lentils
2 1/4 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
 
1. In a medium saucepan, cook the bacon until browned. Pour off and reserve all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 5 minutes.


2. Add the lentils, broth, tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, until the lentils are just tender, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and stir in 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper.

Carrots, Turkey Bacon cooking

Adding everything

Marinating the fish

Finally got myself a decent (larger) non stick pan

Lasagna Roll Ups

This is a recipe adapted from both Kitchen Smack and Blog Chef.  I wanted my meat sauce more meaty, but you can do vegetarian or quite a bit less.

Lasagna Roll Ups

8 Lasagna Noodles, cooked

Mozarella

Sauce:

1lb Ground Beef

1 can Tomato Sauce

1/2 can Diced Tomatoes

Oregano

Basil

Cayenne Pepper

Onion Powder

Garlic, minced or powder

Cheese mix:

1 c Ricotta cheese

1 c Cottage cheese

1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1 Egg

Parsley

Garlic Salt

375 for 20 minutes, cover with Mozarella and cook for 5 more minutes or until cheese melts

Brown your hamburger and then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Simmer.

Mix together all the cheese sauce ingredients

Spread out over the lasagna noodles, roll up

Place roll ups in a 13X9 baking dish with a layer of the meat sauce on the bottom

Cover roll ups with remaining meat sauce and bake for about 15-20 minutes

Cover with Mozarella cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Southwestern Beer Battered Fish

So I have a cold, but what I could taste of this was really good. I can't wait to make it when I fully appreciate the taste.

Beer Battered Fish

Oil for frying

1 1/4 cups Original Bisquick® mix
1 lb tilapia fillets, about 1/2 inch thick, cut into 4 serving pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup regular or nonalcoholic beer
1 egg
1 small lemon, cut into quarters  (optional)

1. In small bowl, mix sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until serving.


2. In 10-inch skillet or deep fryer, heat oil (1 1/2 inches) to 350°F. In shallow dish, place 1/4 cup of the Bisquick mix. Lightly coat fish with Bisquick mix.

3. In medium bowl, beat remaining 1 cup Bisquick mix, the chili powder, salt, beer and egg with wire whisk until smooth. Dip fish into batter, letting excess drip into dish.

4. Fry fish in oil 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown; drain on paper towels. Serve with sauce and lemon quarters.

Serve with Green Chile Tarter Sauce*

Coat the fish with 1/4 c Bisquick mix

Dip in batter

Fry!

* Green Chile Tarter Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tablespoons (from 4.5-oz can)  chopped green chiles, drained
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion

or
I just whipped up my own with
 
Mayo
Dill Relish
Onion Powder
Garlic Power
Salt
Parsley

Fettuccine Carbonara

 I adapted this recipe from Ragu. :)  Clearly, I didn't use fettuccine noodles either, and I try to cook with whole wheat noodles in case you were thinking they looked strange in the picture.

Fettuccine Carbonara

11 oz Fettuccine noodles (angel hair pasta worked nicely, and I only used about 1/2 the box)

1 jar Alfredo Sauce

5-6 pieces Turkey Bacon

1 c Peas, cooked

Pepper (optional)

Minced Garlic (optional)

Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Have the noodles cooking in water, fry up the turkey bacon. I added some minced garlic, but I like garlic.

I'm lazy and like to cut down on the amount of dishes I have to wash, so I just warmed up the peas with the bacon.

Pour the jar of alfredo sauce over the cooked (and drained!) noodles, add peas and bacon. Season with pepper, parmesan, and serve with garlic toast.

Chicken Noodle Company Casserole

This recipe is adapted from a recipe that was posted on one of my message boards.

Chicken Noodle Company Casserole

2-3 c Noodles or Pasta, cooked (I used whole wheat penne)
1 can Cream of Chicken
1 can Tuna, (or 2 cups cooked, diced Turkey or Chicken)
1/2 c Mayo
1 c grated Cheese
1-2 c. Breadcrumbs, seasoned (or make your own seasoned bread crumbs)
1-2 T Olive oil or melted Butter

350-375 until bubbly

Mix together the Cream of Chicken, Mayo, and Meat

Add the grated cheese, and then mix with your noodles and put in baking dish

Season your breadcrumbs with onion powder, garlic salt, italian seasoning, parsley, and then add about 1 T of Olive oil or melted butter and mix

The bread crumbs should look about like this.

Sprinkle over the top of noodle mixture and bake until bubbly