Harvest Chicken Soup

Remember my Harvest Chicken? I made the leftovers into a soup. I diced the chicken, then poured the rest of the casserole into a large saucepan (including the broth). I then added a handful of diced onion, 1 small diced zucchini, 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules, 1 can of chicken broth, and one broth can full of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

One of the things that I always ask my Mom to make for me when we're visiting is her spaghetti sauce. If my parents are visiting us, she makes extra and leaves it for me in the freezer. Another reason to love my Mom! We're having the last batch of frozen sauce from their summer visit for dinner tonight.

1.5-2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
garlic
2 bay leaves
oregano (1-2 tsp)
Salt & pepper, to taste
sugar(1 tsp)
1 large can tomato sauce
1 medium sized can tomato paste


Brown beef, onion and garlic together. Drain, then return to pan. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and all other ingredients. When sauce begins to bubble, lower heat. Cover, simmer at least 30 minutes. Adjust oregano, sugar, salt & pepper as needed. Tastes best after simmering all day!

Sandwich bread

I LOVE my bread machine. We use it at least twice a week. It's nothing fancy, but it's fabulous. :) Right now my Sunbeam is busy making sandwich bread. It took me just a few minutes to put everything in, and will go on it's own for a few hours. The house will smell wonderful, and the bread will be about 1/3 less than if I'd bought it in the store. AND, I can add whatever I want to it (Parmesan cheese, herbs, sesame seeds, etc.)

1 c water
2 tbsp soft butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp non-fat milk powder
3 tbsp sugar
3 cups bread flour
6 tsp vital wheat gluten
3/4 tsp bread machine yeast

Sift together bread flour and gluten. Add ingredients to bread machine in order suggested by the manufacturer (mine suggests the order in which the ingredients are listed above), turn it on, and wait for the delicious smell!

Harvest Chicken

Adapted from Swanson's

This meal cost us under $8, and will feed us for two meals, so it's less than $4/meal. Good deal!

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 c frozen green beans
1 c chicken broth
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bag Uncle Ben's Ready Rice (we used Long grain & Wild)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Brown chicken in oil for five minutes on each side. Meanwhile, spray a large baking dish with cooking spray. In dish, mix together sweet potatoes, green beans, broth, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Top with chicken. Cover, then bake for one hour, until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender. Microwave rice for 90 seconds. Enjoy!

Homemade pizza & breadsticks

1.5 c hot water
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c honey
2 tsp salt
4.5 c flour
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1.5 tsp garlic salt
2 tbsp quick yeast
15 oz. can tomato sauce
6 oz. can seasoned tomato paste
Pinch of sugar
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Place hot water, then olive oil, then honey, then salt, then flour, then seasoning, then garlic, then yeast into a bread machine. Set on the dough cycle. When complete, divide dough in half. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together tomato paste, tomato sauce and sugar to make pizza sauce. With oiled hands, press one half into desired pizza shape. Top with pizza sauce, then cheese. Oil hands again, then press remaining half of dough into a rectangle. Cut into strips, and place on a baking pan. Bake pizza and breadsticks for 15-25 minutes, until dough is done. Use remaining pizza sauce as a dip for breadsticks.

Lemon butter scallops and broccoli

4 tbsp butter
1 large lemon, juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. bay scallops
2 heads broccoli

Steam broccoli; keep warm. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic 1-2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Remove 2 tbsp of the sauce, and stir it into the broccoli. Add scallops to pan. Saute until opaque, 3-5 minutes.

Baked Ziti

This is the BEST baked ziti I've ever had! I got the recipe from a friend, who got it from Cooks Illustrated. It was really, REALLY good. It wasn't dried out on top and mushy in the middle like all of the other baked ziti I've had. I added 1/2 lb. pork sausage that I browned with a generous dose of Italian Seasoning. We will be having this again. Often.

Baked Ziti

1 pound 1% cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 pound ziti or penne
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese together in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot over high heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, about 7 minutes (the pasta will finish cooking in the oven). Drain pasta and leave in colander. Do not wash the large pot.


2. While the pasta is cooking, heat oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil and oregano, and sugar; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Take off heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.


3. Stir cornstarch into heavy cream and transfer mixture to the now-empty large pot the pasta cooked in. Set the pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup tomato mixture, and half of the mozzarella. Stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.


4. Transfer mixture to a 9X13 baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over the top. Cover the baking dish with foil that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes.


5. Remove foil and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve.