Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Creamy Spinach Tomato Tortellini

I found this recipe on Pinterest and absolutely love this dish! It reminds me of pasta that I get at restaurants. I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Here is the website where I found the recipe: http://www.bombshellbling.com/creamy-spinach-tomato-tortellini/

Creamy Spinach Tomato Tortellini

Ingredients

1 bag regular sized Barilla three cheese tortellini (8 oz) or 16 oz fresh tortellini in the refrigerated section of your grocery store
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon onion flakes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Begin by boiling your tortellini noodles until they are al dente (aka ready). Follow the directions on the bag for boiling time.
While the tortellini is boiling, chop the spinach roughly.
Heat a large skillet using medium heat and put the two teaspoons of minced garlic into it. Sautee it briefly until fragrant, about thirty seconds or so.
Add into the skillet the petite diced tomatoes (undrained), spinach, salt, pepper, dried basil, and onion flakes.
Cook and stir over medium high heat until the mixture begins to bubble.
In another bowl, combine the flour and half-and-half. Whisk until fairly smooth.
Add the creamy mixture into the the skillet along with the parmesan cheese.
Heat through and reduce the heat to medium low and continue to stir and cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
Add the drained tortellini and mix together gently.
Serve and enjoy!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

We tried this recipe the other day and absolutely loved it! Very yummy and very healthy! Here is the link to the recipe as well as it posted here, hope you all enjoy!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/spaghetti_squash_lasagna_broccolini.html

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna with Broccolini

Makes: 4 servings
Serving Size: 1/2 stuffed squash half
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 2 1/2- to 3-pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch broccolini, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons water
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Preparation

Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 450°F.
Place squash cut-side down in a microwave-safe dish; add 2 tablespoons water. Microwave, uncovered, on High until the flesh is tender, about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, place squash halves cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in a 450°F oven until the squash is tender, 40 to 50 minutes.)
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add broccolini, garlic and red pepper (if using); cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add water and cook, stirring, until the broccolini is tender, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl.
Use a fork to scrape the squash from the shells into the bowl. Place the shells in a broiler-safe baking pan or on a baking sheet. Stir 3/4 cup mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into the squash mixture. Divide it between the shells; top with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
Bake on the lower rack for 10 minutes. Move to the upper rack, turn the broiler to high and broil, watching carefully, until the cheese starts to brown, about 2 minutes.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Healthy Zucchini Lasagna

Zucchini Lasagna (No Pasta)

Ingredients:

8 oz Beef, ground, 98% lean (raw)

1 cup Cottage Cheese, 1%

1 eggs Eggs, Whole

4 oz Cheese, mozzarella, reduced fat

2 medium (196 grams) Raw Zucchini, medium

1 cup Green Onions

1/4 cup Raw Tomatoes

1/4 cup Water

1 fl oz Tomato Paste

1/2 tsp Oregano, ground

1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar

1/8 tsp Pepper

1 clove Garlic, clove

1/2 tsp Basil

1/4 tsp Thyme

* I just used my favorite spaghetti sauce instead of this cause I had it on hand and it was so good!

Preparation:

1. Slice zucchini into long thin strips. (It's hard to slice it length wise so I think next time I'll just do rounds and then they are perfect bite size pieces!) Cook (use desired method---roast, broil, bake, saute) zucchini until tender and set aside.

2. Fry meat until brown; drain fat.

3. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, pepper, thyme, tomato paste, garlic (minced), water, and green onions (diced). Bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes or until reduced.

5. In small bowl, slightly beat the egg.

4. Add cottage cheese, half of shredded cheese and cream of tartar.

5. In 1 1/2-qt. baking-roasting pan arrange half of the meat mixture. Top with half of the zucchini and all the cottage cheese mixture. Top with remaining meat and zucchini.

6. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.

7. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer.

8. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Orange Chicken

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon water

1 Tablespoon corn starch

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup ( I did about 1/8 cup less since we like to put soy sauce on our rice)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp of black pepper

1/2 can orange juice

3 cups of vegetable oil

2-3 chicken breasts

3/4 cup of pancake mix ( I just threw some in a bowl, I didn't really measure it)

1/2-1 cup of water, basically just enough to make it a good consistency for a batter for the chicken. Slightly runny but not too runny :)

Directions:

I start the rice first since I do mine in a rice cooker, just make how ever much you want. Then I make the sauce.

Combine the cornstarch and water together in a small saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat on medium stirring constantly until the mixture begins to boil and starts to thicken. This kind of took a little while. Then I just keep it in low while I cool my chicken stirring it occasionally.

Heat up your vegetable oil in a small saucepan. You will know it's ready if you drop some pancake batter in it and it sizzles and starts to cook. You don't want it too hot about medium high heat so the chicken will have time to cook all the way.

For the chicken you want to cut it into bite size pieces. Combine the pancake mix and the water. Then dip your chicken into your pancake batter and put it in the hot oil. Cook until outside is brown.

I like to put all the chicken on a plate with a paper towel and then when all of it is cooked I toss it in with the sauce.

Then serve and enjoy!!!

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Suzannah's First Birthday!

Well Suzannah is officially one years old! It's so crazy to think about us having a 1yr old! This past year has flown by so fast, but boy has Suzannah made it so much fun. She is literally the best little entertainer, I will never get tired of just sitting and watching her. Over the past year she has grown so much, she currently has 5 teeth and her hair is finally long enough for a clippy and a little pigtail! Here are some things she enjoys...

1.She loves books, all you have to say is "Suzannah wanna read a book" and she is up and in your arms ready to read with a book in hand haha.
2. She loves playing with anything that's not a toy, keys and our cell phones are her favorite,
3. She loves rocking out to music with her dad, I guess this is probably because her dad made her play the guitar and drums from day one ;) Every time her dad is playing his guitar she wants him to hold her soo bad and when he picks her up she is just the happiest little girl in the world. She really loves her daddy.

4. She loves to eat anything we are eating, it doesn't matter if her tummy is super full, if we are eating something she has got to have it too!
5. She hates to be away from mommy, she has kind of had this problem since she was born but lately it's gotten even worse. I love that she needs me but man I walk away for one second and if she isn't distracted playing or something you better believe she is right on my heels fussing until I pick her up and let her come with me. :)
6. She loves taking walks and playing on the slide at the playground. Every time we go for a walk now and she see's the slide she instantly reaches for it. She really loves it and has so much fun on it.
7. For some reason she loves our shoes, she is always carrying them around the house and she loves clothes as you can see in her reaction when she got some at her birthday party haha. I guess she is going to be quite the little girl :)
8. She loves to brush her teeth, it's funny to watch her giggle when mommy brushes them because it tickles and now she wants to be a big girl and do it on her own, she does a good job too!

Just recently she has grown to love a teddy bear that her Great Grandma Gretchen gave her, it's so cute, one day I found her awake in her crib just playing with him and from that day on she will reach for him when she is tired and give him lots of cuddles. She's even fallen asleep with him tucked under her arm, sooooo cute!!!

She likes just about any food, except for the baby food dinners and formula. Just recently I started to try to wean her from nursing and she did not like whole milk either. Then I saw some vanilla flavored formula and wala gave that a try and she downed it! I couldn't believe it, thank heavens we found something!!!

At about 11 months Suzannah really started walking, it's so fun to see her try so hard and then accomplish something. Now she is everywhere around the house! She has even mastered going up the stairs!

Suzannah has learned the art of fussiness pretty much since day one :) Starting with colic, then getting better for a while and now it's back again and I wonder what the terrible two's will bring if she already is fussy! :/ I tell ya, if she doesn't like something she will let you know! haha We still love her though and we know it won't last forever. She is already learning to communicate with us more and more each day and that alone is rewarding for the both of us.

Here is a link to her pictures that we took at JCP today: Suzannah's First year pics

This past Wed (her birthday), we had a birthday party with some friends and family. We had a great turnout and soo much fun! Thank you to everyone that came and thank you for all her sweet thoughtful gifts. For those of you who weren't able to come to her party here is the video of it for you. I love all her reactions to her gifts!