Meatball and Spinach No-sagna for Kevin!

This meat and spinach casserole hits the same flavor notes as lasagna, but with no noodles! Serve with a green salad and you have a wonderful meal! This is our friend Kevin's favorite dish I make, so in honor of his birthday a couple months late I made it for him last weekend when we had friends over.

Meatballs

• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (or you can use ground beef)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
• 1 can (14 ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 2 1/2 cups shredded italian four cheese blend

Spinach

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 (10 ounce) boxes chopped spinach, defrosted
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, bread crumbs, onion, half of the chopped garlic, half of the parsley, the Parmigiano cheese, and a little salt and pepper. Mix the meatball ingredients until well combined. Divide into 4 equal parts, then roll each part into 5 balls. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Scoot the meatballs to the side of the skillet and add the remaining garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, mix to combine. Shake the skillet to coat the meatballs in the sauce and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes more. While the meatballs are simmering, start the spinach.
2. Heat a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the onion, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. While the onion is cooking, transfer the defrosted spinach to a clean kitchen or paper towel and wring all the liquid out. Add the spinach, chicken stock, and cream to the skillet. Season with nutmeg and cook for 2 minutes or until the mixture is thick. Spread the spinach mixture over the bottom of a baking dish. Top with the meatballs and the tomato sauce. Top that with the shredded italian cheese blend. Place under a pre-heated broiler about 6 inches from the heat to melt and evenly brown the cheese, about three minutes.
3. Remove the no-sagna from the broiler and garnish with lots of torn or shredded basil!
4. Enjoy

Enchilada Sauce......not from the can!

I love making enchiladas. This fall I wanted to make them but did not have any canned sauce. I thought to myself that it should not be that hard to make and I was right. Very easy, very quick, very few ingredients and very good. So stop buying canned sauce and try this simple recipe. It makes a good amount so I usually use half and then freeze the rest for next time I crave mexican food!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of chili powder
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 3 cups of water
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

Directions

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Stirring constantly slowly add water.
3. Pour into a saucepan.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened.
5. Stir in tomato sauce.
6. Use in your favorite enchilada recipe!

Good for when it is freezing out Tortilla Soup

I absolutely love soup. It is probably one of my favorite foods. I find so much comfort in it, especially in the winter but I also love soup on a warm day. Call me crazy, but that is how much I really do love soup. I usually make a huge pot of soup every couple weeks and we will get it for a half a week for dinner. My husband is a UPS driver and the weather this week hasn't risen above freezing so when he nicely asked for soup the other night I could not let my Christmas elf down! I have no photo for this one, so just trust me that it is a keeper.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of diced onion
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves finely diced
• 1 jalapeno (finely diced), if you like spicy keep the seeds
• 8 cups of chicken stock
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can corn
• 1 can black beans
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• pepper to taste
• avocado
• cheddar or pepper jack cheese
• cilantro
• lime wedges
• tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium high heat. Cook onion for 2 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeno, cook 2-3 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes, corn, black beans and salt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken, heat until hot.
2. Laddle into individual bowls. Top with the avocado, cheese, cilantro, lime squeeze and tortilla chips. (pick and choose toppings you like=) I also put a drop of sour cream in my bowl.

Easy and Delicious Stuffed Mushrooms

I never thought I liked mushrooms and now to think of all the years I missed out makes me sad. I love the earthy and almost meat-like quality of a mushroom. This was an appetizer my roommate in college made all the time and everyone loved them!!! Well I did not know until years later when I entered my mushroom eating years, what I had been missing out on. So, as the holidays are here and in full swing, I am sure many of you are looking for new, quick easy ideas for appetizers. Try this one out and I promise it will not disappoint!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of white or cremini mushrooms
• 1 lb of Jimmy Dean sausage or another brand
• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese (I prefer light), softened
• bread crumbs (optional)

Directions

1. Take stems out of mushrooms. Lightly clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel to clean off the dirt.
2. In a bowl mix the softened cream cheese and sausage.
3. Fill mushrooms with mixture.
4. Put mushrooms on a cookie sheet or baking dish and sprinkle bread crumbs over each mushroom.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
6. Enjoy!!!

Whisky glazed carrots for Thanksgiving!!!!

So before I left on vacation I was trying to clear out all the food we had in the fridge. Our last meal before we left I made meatloaf and wanted to have a vegetable to go along with it. We always have carrots in our fridge as a snack but they are always ignored as a side dish to our dinner. I decided to try out a new recipe that would be quick and easy for Thanksgiving. This dish is wonderful and very easy to make. If you bring this dish to Thanksgiving you will truly wow people. And other than the whisky that most of you already have in your pantry (if you haven't drank it already), it is a cheap dish to make.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (to 3 Pounds) Carrots, Peeled And Cut Into Thick Circles
• 1 stick Butter
• ½ cups Jack Daniels Or Other Whiskey
• ¾ cups (to 1 Cup) Brown Sugar
• ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Salt
• Freshly Ground Pepper (to Taste)

Directions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add carrots in two batches., cooking for 60-90 seconds each batch. Remove from skillet.

Pour in whiskey and allow to evaporate 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium, and add remaining butter. When butter melts, sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Stir together, then add carrots to skillet. Cover, and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Remove lid and add salt and pepper. Continue cooking until carrots are done and glaze is thick, about 5 more minutes.

Pour onto a platter and serve immediately. Sprinkle with chopped chives (or fresh cut parsley) if desired.

Stick a serving spoon in the mix, and it’s time to serve ‘em up.

Tomato and Basil pasta

Most of our meals for August centered around all the cherry tomatoes I was growing in our garden. I remembered a dish I loved that my friends mom made so I decided to use that as my inspiration to come up with my own dish.

This dish is quick and easy. First, I coated the bottom of my pan with olive oil and put in three cloves of minced garlic, I love garlic so adjust to your preference. Cook at around medium-high heat. When the garlic started to cook I added in a couple splashes of white wine and continued to cook it a little more until the liquid started to reduce. I used probably around 2 cups worth of cherry tomatoes. I put them in and cooked them until they started to pop.

While you are doing this boil water and cook about a half package of angel hair or any other thin pasta noodle.

When the pasta is cooked, add to pan with tomatoes and toss to coat pasta. Throw in cut up fresh basil and enjoy!!!

Just for Brian birthday quesadilla

Last week was Bri's big 3-0. For his birthday dinner I told him I would make whatever he wanted. For those of you who know Brian, his favorite food is a chicken quesadilla. If we go to a restaurant and it is on the menu that is what he is going to order! So what did he want out of all the possibilities, yes you already know, a simple chicken quesadilla. So to make this one extra special I put the chicken on the bbq, made homemade salsa and guacamole. It also had refried beans and pepper jack cheese. This was a filling quesadilla, neither of us could finish it but it sure was good. Sometimes the simple meals turn out to be the best! So remember next time your love ones birthday comes around; it might be easier just to take them out to dinner but it is more memorable to make it at home with one ingredient you will not get out: TLC.