Used to be Dianne's Lasagna

I can't believe this recipe isn't on this blog yet! I make it fairly regularly. I got a recipe from Dave's sister Dianne. She makes it every Christmas. I've tweaked it to my liking, and now it's mine, but it used to be Dianne's.

Lasagna Noodles - do not cook
8 oz cottage cheese
8 oz plain yogurt
2 jars spaghetti sauce (barilla 3 cheese)
1 lb hamburger, browned and drained
8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (State Brand Mild Cheddar)
1Tbsp Tastefully Simple Onion Onion (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. After browning and draining beef, add almost all the spaghetti sauce. If you have it, add some Tastefully Simple Onion Onion to this mixture.
In a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese with plain yogurt and cheddar cheese. In a 9 x 13 pan, layer Noodles, meat sauce and yogurt mixture. Continue layering for a total of three layers, ending with noodles and sauce. Pour remaining sauce around edges.
Cover and seal with aluminum foil so that the steam can not escape. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese on lasagna and return to oven (without the foil) for 15 minutes longer or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 6

Chicken Soup in the Slow Cooker

I recently joined a CSA, which means I get a box of veggies from a local farm every week. Some of them are things I've never tried and am not sure what to do with...like bok choy and kohlrabi. So rather than letting them go to waste while I try to figure it out, I chop them up and use them in soup. I'm thrilled this turned out so yummy, because it is definitely a "throw what you have in the crockpot" kind of soup. So, I prepped my veggies, poached my chicken, and made it into soup. I just finished eating a bowl of it...I wish I would have waited so I could remember what all was in it!

6 chicken thighs, poached (or cooked the way you like)
2 heads kohlrabi, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, sliced into rounds
bok choy, chopped (not sure how much there was)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
Onion
2 Tbsp chicken base
water

I literally threw everything (varying amounts, whatever I had on hand) into the crock pot, covered it with water, and let it cook on low for 7 hours or so. Then I shredded the chicken and cooked it a little while longer. Sorry it's not more descriptive, but when it comes to chicken soup, I think you mainly have to get the right liquid flavor. I had chicken base (a yellow powdery substance) to use, but I'm sure chicken bouillon would work, as well as using chicken stock instead of water. A recipe I read suggested adding a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to the soup, but I don't have any on hand. (*note to self: buy balsamic!)

Cinnamon French Toast Bake

I found this on Pillsbury's website, and have made it a few different times. This last time I altered it with what I had on hand, and it was still delicious. Try it, you'll like it! It's easy and tastes great!

1/4 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted*
2 cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
6 Eggland's Best eggs*
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream*
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup Fisher® Chef's Naturals® Chopped Pecans
1 cup maple syrup*
Garnish
Icing from cinnamon rolls
Powdered sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup, if desired

1.Heat oven to 375°F. Pour melted butter into ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Separate both cans of dough into 16 rolls; set icing aside. Cut each roll into 8 pieces; place pieces over butter in dish.

2.In medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended; gently pour over roll pieces. Sprinkle with pecans; drizzle with 1 cup syrup.

3.Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove covers from icing; microwave on Medium (50%) 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle.

4.Drizzle icing over top; sprinkle with powdered sugar. If desired, spoon syrup from dish over individual servings. Serve with the additional 1/2 cup maple syrup.

*I probably used 2 tablespoons of butter, and I just melted it in the pan right in the oven before adding everything else. I also just used 3 eggs, fat-free half and half, and just drizzled some syrup over the top before baking without measuring. It cooked faster than it called for, not sure if that was because of the super-oven we were using, or the fewer eggs. Either way, it was awesome, and I'll be making this again :)

Seriously Delicious Carrot Pineapple Cake

I was looking for a dessert to take to Easter dinner, and this is the recipe I found. I'd never made carrot cake before, but with so many glowing reviews, I figured it must be good. I had carrots and fresh pineapple on hand, along with most everything else the recipe called for. Like the name suggests, this is seriously delicious! Even without the nuts (which I didn't have) and less powdered sugar in the frosting than it calls for, because I ran out. It's possibly the easiest cake to make too. Here is the link to Carrot Pineapple Cake on Allrecipes

Make this cake. Don't tell anyone, because then you'll have to share. You won't want to.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the center and add sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix with wooden spoon* until smooth. Stir in carrots, coconut, walnuts and pineapple.
3. Pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Don't panic, the center will sink a little. Allow to cool.
4. To make the frosting: Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the confectioners sugar and beat until creamy.

*it is important to use a wooden spoon and not an electric mixer.

My Very Own Chili

I love chili. So many people tell me "I just add this and that until it tastes good" but I've always needed a recipe. Until now. I had hamburger in the freezer, so I went to the store on a mission. Find the stuff to make chili, and don't use a seasoning packet. So that's what I did, and dammit, it's GOOD! The measurements aren't precise, because who measures onions when they're cooking them for chili? And I don't know how much chili powder works for you, so do what you want. I think the main ingredient for me was the tomatoes with chiles and cilantro. You could tell there was cilantro in it, but it wasn't overpowering at all. It was definitely a background note.

Dice onions and red bell pepper. Very finely dice a carrot. I did a julienne cut first and then diced them. Cook them in about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pot until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add 1.5 pounds ground beef, cook until done.
Put ground beef mixture in a crockpot with:
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
28oz water (used to rinse out can)
2 15oz cans Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Chiles and Cilantro
1 15oz can pinto beans
1 15oz can red kidney beans
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir well and cook on low 7 hours, or on high for 4. Or until you're ready to eat and the taste is right for you.

Peach-Pineapple Crumble (9)

From Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals

I.LOVE.THIS. I used a pineapple that I cut myself...I just let it sit in a bowl overnight and get the juices that come with the one you can buy already cored at the grocery store. It's seriously delicious. Did I mention how much I loved it? (I just realized I didn't peel the peaches. oops!)

1 cored fresh pineapple
3 C sliced peeled peaches (3 large)
Cooking spray
1/4 C butter, melted
1 1/2 C pineapple supreme cake mix (such as Duncan Hines) (NOT THE WHOLE BOX!)
2 C vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt
1/4 C chopped pecans, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Drain pineapple, reserving 3 tablespoons juice. Chop pineapple to measure 3 cups.
Combine chopped pineapple, reserved juice, and peach slices in an 11x7" baking dish coated with cooking spray. Stir butter into cake mix until smooth. Spread batter over fruit; coat with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for 38 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Serve warm with frozen yogurt. 8 servings (1/8 of crumble, 1/4 C frozen yogurt)

Cal: 333 Fat: 10.6 Protein: 5.1 Carb: 58.4 Fiber: 1.8

Chicken Scaloppini (6)

From Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals

This one is really tasty. My biggest issue with it is pounding the chicken thin enough without tearing it up. I'll need to practice more I guess. If I remember correct, it's less about force and more about letting the meat mallet do the work.
I do really like this because it is very easy and, I would think, pretty versatile. Add some mushrooms, onions, etc to the pan when you add the broth and lemon juice and let them cook while the sauce reduces. Sounds like something I'm going to try next time!

4 (6oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about the size of a chicken breast with the tender removed)
1 large egg white
2 tsp water
1/2 C Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 C fat free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Pound to 1/4" thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.
Combine egg white and water in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Place the breadcrumbs in another dish. Dip each chicken breast half in egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumbs.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of chicken to the pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and chicken.
Add broth and lemon juice to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Cook, uncovered, over high heat 2-3 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup. Drizzle sauce over chicken. 4 servings (1 chicken breast half and 1 Tbsp sauce)

Cal: 265 Fat: 7 Protein: 37.4 Carb: 10.5 Fiber: 0.5