zucchini lasagna

A while ago I pinned this on pinterest:

photo credit: skinnytaste.com

I was intrigued, but time went by and I forgot about it.  Until my husband's cousin brought us some zucchini and yellow squash and then i knew i would make this.

Here's my version - I made some changes to the original recipe, but you should click over to skinnytaste and read her directions because she has some very helpful hints.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
16 oz cottage cheese
1 bottle spaghetti sauce
1 egg
3 medium zucchini (i used 2 and included 1 yellow squash)
16 oz Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

• Start by cleaning the zucchini.  Then slice into 1/8-inch thick slices.  Lay these on a flat surface and lightly coat with salt to draw out moisture.  Heat grill (I used my indoor grill for ease) and grill each zucchini slice for about 4 minutes.  Remove from grill and place on a paper towel to draw out more moisture.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a frying pan, add olive oil and grill onions and garlic.  Cook until onions are tender and turning translucent.  Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink.
• Drain the excess fat from the meat mixture.
• In a separate medium bowl, beat egg.  Add cottage cheese and spaghetti sauce.  Combine well.
• In a 9x13 baking dish, spread out a small amount of the sauce mixture (just enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pan).  On top of sauce mixture, lay out a layer of zucchini.  Then spread out a layer of 1/2 of the meat mixture.  
• Add another layer of sauce (about half of the remaining), followed by a zucchini layer and finally another meat layer.  Cover with a layer of zucchini.
• Top with the Mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Let it stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Make a tossed salad and some garlic bread and you've got yourself a meal!

The hubby loved this and so did I.  The kids had a hard time getting past the fact that there weren't any noodles.  Next time, I would only use the zucchini and leave the yellow squash for something else.

Creamy Shepherd's Pie

This is a variation of the old stand-by recipe that I'm sure almost everyone has.  My husband prefers things creamy, so a while back I swapped out the tomato paste and substituted either cream of chicken or cream of mushroom.  He loves it and so does my family.  Next time you make this favortie recipe, try switching it up too.

Creamy Shepherd's Pie

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, diced
4 cups mashed potatoes
1 can favorite vegetable, drained
1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
2 cups grated cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onions in large skillet.  When onions begin to be translucent, add ground beef; salt and pepper to your taste.  Cook until no longer pink.  Drain grease.

In a 9x13 casserole dish, combine vegetable and can of soup.  Add the ground beef and spread into a thin layer.  Finally, spread potatoes over the top of the meat.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with salad and dressing.

One of these days I will post about how to make really yummy mashed potatoes.

Porcupine Meatballs

I received this recipe for Porcupine Meatballs from an old friend when I was still in my teenage years.  We did a recipe exchange for a youth activity at church, and this was one of the recipes that she brought to share with everyone.

Porcupine Meatballs

1 lb hamburger
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup rice
1 egg
salt and pepper
1 can tomato soup  - plus a can and a half of water

Combine hamburger, egg, rice, oatmeal, and salt and pepper (to your taste).  Create meatballs by take a portion of the meat mixture and rolling in your hands.

Meanwhile, open the can of soup and empty into a medium size sauce pan.  Add a can and a half of water and bring to a boil.  Once soup is boiling, carefully place meatballs in soup.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Serve over mashed potatoes.


Here are some tips from me for this recipe.

Use your electric mixture to combine the beef and other ingredients.  It is so fast and easy.

Don't worry if your meatballs aren't completely covered by the soup mixture..  Once it starts boiling and the meatballs start cooking you can stir them around a bit and they will all cook.

Here are my meatballs not fully covered by the soup.

And here they are once the soup returns to a boil and they begin cooking.  No worries!

When your meatballs are finished cooking, serve them over mashed potatoes.  Super yummy!

Taco Bake

I grew up with my mom making this recipe.  I've modified it a little over the years, I'll give you the low down on the changes.

Taco Bake (printable recipe here)

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 package taco seasoning
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ cups water
1 can corn
1(8 oz) can tomato sauce
½ cup grated cheese
2 cups corn chips
1 can diced green chilies (optional)
1 (15 oz) can black beans (optional) 

Directions

Cook beef, drain fat.  Stir in taco seasoning and cornstarch.  Add un-drained corn, tomato sauce, rinsed beans, green chilies and water.  Cook to boiling, simmer uncovered 15 minutes.  Add ½ corn chips; pour into ungreased casserole dish.  Top with rest of corn chips and cheese.   

Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

  

My modifications to the recipe include adding the green chilies and the black beans.  I added the green chilies as a way to add a twist on the taste and the black beans to make it more filling and feed more.

My kids love this dish and it tastes great served with a little sour cream and a green salad.  My favorite part?  the crispy chips and cheese on the top!

Macaroni Deluxe Casserole

This is a recipe that I've had in my recipe binder since before I got married.  It is a family recipe from a friend.  I forgot to snap a "pretty" picture of it before we started chowing down.  The kids loved it and so did the hubby, so it might make an appearance on my dinner table more often.

Macaroni Deluxe Casserole (printable recipe here)

Ingredients:

3/4 lb hamburger 
1/2 green pepper (I used a red pepper) 
1 chopped onion 
1 can tomato soup 
1 can cream of mushroom soup 
1/2 large can of evaporated milk 
1 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni 
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional) 

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté onions and peppers.  Add hamburger and salt and pepper.  Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain.  Once meat is browned, drain.   In a casserole dish, combine macaroni, soups, milk and meat mixture.  Top with grated cheese. 
Mix and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

Quick Beef Stroganoff

Last night I made some yummy Beef Stroganoff.  I loosely followed this recipe from Kraft Foods.  Their recipe is for a crockpot meal and uses stew meat.  I wanted it quick and easy and I wanted to use ground beef.  Basically, I used what I had on hand.

Here's what I did -

Quick Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients

• 1.5 lb.  ground beef
• 10 oz.  canned mushrooms
• 1/2  onion, chopped 
• 1 clove  garlic, minced 
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2 tsp.  paprika 
• 1 tsp.  salt 
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream (I like things saucy, so the 1 cup they suggested wouldn't cut it!)
• 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard 
• 4 cups egg noodles, uncooked 
• 2 tsp. dried parsley 

Directions:

In large pot, cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, lightly oil, large skillet.  Saute onion, garlic and mushrooms, until tender.  Add ground beef and cook until brown.  Drain grease.  Return meat mixture to medium heat and add beef bouillon (and a 1/2 cup water), paprika, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and dijon mustard.

When pasta is al dente, drain and add to skillet with meat mixture.  Mix to combine.  Then add the sour cream mixture and mix more.  Add parsley to top.  Serve in skillet.

Serve with green beans or the vegetable of your choice!  Enjoy!

03/13/12 - Chicken & Beef Fajitas

I wanted to use up a bunch of produce I've had hanging around in the fridge for a week or two. So we had chicken and beef fajitas.  I just grilled up some chicken breasts and the beef was leftover sirloin steak from our Sunday dinner that I sliced and warmed up with our peppers and onions.

For our extras, we had diced tomatoes, lettuce and slices of avocado and a dollop of sour cream.

Because I am trying to eat a little more healthy these days I had my fajita on a Flatout Multi-Grain Flat Bread that I picked up at Costco a few weeks ago.  They aren't flour tortillas by any means, but they aren't too bad either.

march 23, 2011 - fajitas & bean and cheese burritos

first i cut up a few sirloin steaks into strips and sauteed them up with some red pepper strips.  then i cooked up a can of refried beans for the kids and chopped some lettuce.  i served it with the regular toppings of shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa.  so good!

the past week - yummy chicken enchiladas and steak

so i've been really bad at posting this past week.  fortunately, i wasn't too bad about getting some dinner on the table.  i just haven't made anything spectacular that i wanted to post about... well except for the enchiladas i made on sunday.  those were awesome and i forgot to take a picture of them. i'll try to document what i put in them below.

this past week we had boring waffles, not the yummy ones from this day.  we had some leftovers to clear out the fridge and we had frozen pizza one night.

february 23, 2011 - tonight I cooked up some sirloin steak and served it with rolls and pasta salad.  nothing too spectacular.

_____________________________________
chicken enchiladas from sunday night

2-3 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 small tub chive and onion cream cheese
1 can diced tomatoes, with onions
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom
1 orange pepper, diced
2 cups cheese, shredded  (I used mexican blend)
1 can green enchilada sauce
10-15 flour tortillas

mixed everything, except some cheese and the enchilada sauce together and slapped it in the tortillas, topped with some cheese and green enchilada sauce.  put it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350.  yummy!

february 13, 2011 - beef stroganoff

i made beef stroganoff for dinner.  another recipe from my friend malia that i modified because i forgot to put it in the crockpot early in the day.  i just cooked mine up in a sauce pan.  the meat wasn't as tender as it would have been from the crockpot, but it was still yummy.  we served the beef and sauce over egg noodles.

beef stroganoff

round steak (i used sirloin steak because that's what i had)

2 small onions ( you can do more or less depending on how much you like)

1 package of lipton onion soup mix

2 cans cream of mushroom

about half a can of water

1/2 cup or more sour cream

sauté the onions after you brown the meat, or just put them in.  mix it all together in the crockpot and cook for 6+ hours, then when it’s done add sour cream, as much as 1 container or as little as half a cup.  serve over rice or noodles.

february 2 & 3, 2011 -ice cream & spaghetti & meatballs

february 2, 2011 - we had ice cream.  i know nutritious and filling.

february 3, 2011 - spaghetti and meatballs. the last time i went shopping armour meatballs were on a great sale so i decided to try some.  we ate them tonight and nathan and i were actually impressed with how good they were.  i just boiled some noodles and mixed in some spaghetti sauce.  we topped it off with grated parmesan cheese.

january 31, 2011 - smothered sirloin steak in parmesan peppercorn sauce

tonight i made something new... and it was good!

i got the recipe from kraftfoods.com, here.  i served it over egg noodles to make it a little more substantial and it was good.  even the kids liked it.  it was also really quick and simple and used ingredients that i typically have on hand. 

the picture is isaac's plate since i had mine half gone before i remembered to take a picture.

january 24, 2011 - sunday dinner stack

i'm really not sure what this is called, so i made something up.  nathan's mom made it for us when we were living with them, while trying to find a house to buy.  it is very quick (like 10 minutes) and super easy.  and the kids and hubby love it.

start out with a package of the frozen texas toast with garlic and cheese on top, i had this brand, but any brand will do.   cook according to package directions. next microwave a hormel refridgerated entree - i used the beef roast with au jus.  then whip up some mashed potatoes.  i heated the beef and made the potatoes while the texas toast was in the oven.  once everything is prepared, top a slice of the texas toast with mashed potatoes and then beef.  pour some au jus over the top.  i warmed some frozen veggies for our side dish.

the great thing about this meal is that all of the ingredients were purchased while on sale and with a coupon so it was super inexpensive as well.  the hormel entrees can be pricey, but if you watch for a sale and then pair it with a coupon you can stock up.  i freeze them and pull them out when i need something quick.

because this dinner took almost no time at all, after dinner, i made another batch of wisconsin cauliflower soup.  I wanted to let it sit for a couple of days and let the flavors blend together.

january 18, 2011 - easy broccoli beef

tonight, i made an easy broccoli beef recipe. it was the first time making this and it was yummy! for the recipe i used sirloin steak and fresh broccoli i got on sale this past week.

and yes, normally you would have this dish on rice or noodles, but nathan doesn't really care for rice too much and because we've had quite a bit of rice lately, i thought i would be nice to him and we served the broccoli beef over mashed potatoes. still yummy!

the kids loved it too. isaac said, "this is really good even though it looks gross." my kids are pretty good at eating whatever i make because nathan and i have never given them the option of not eating. well, they can not eat what i make, but they don't get anything else. they learned really quickly that it stinks to go to bed hungry.