Pizza Macaroni Casserole

  
     I made this recipe up last night and it turned out delicious!  I had some smoked sausage that I needed to use up but only had about 6 oz. of it left so I threw this casserole together and used up the last of lots of other ingredients I had as well! It really worked out great and had amazing flavor.  Jackson named it Pizza Macaroni Casserole and gave extremely high reviews.  Maybe I should make up my own recipes more often! In all honesty I didn't measure anything so the only exact measurements I can provide is the size of cans I used for the sauce.  For those of you who don't feel comfortable shaking spices and adding ingredients "until it looks good" I'll go ahead and try to estimate what I used.  Here goes!

INGREDIENTS

6 oz. smoked sausage, sliced

pepperoni

2 cups dry macaroni noodles 

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water

1 - 1 1/2 cups mozarella cheese

1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese.

1 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 1/2 tsp. dried onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. dried basil

1/8 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.  Cook macaroni according to package directions.

2.  Meanwhile, in a casserole dish combine tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water, sliced sausage, sugar, and spices.  Mix well. 

3.  When noodles are done, drain them and then add to the sauce mixture.  Mix well and coat noodles with sauce.  Taste test the sauce and adjust seasonings to your taste. 

4.  Place a layer of pepperoni on top of noodle mixture.  When I did this I just made sure each pepperoni was touching and created a solid single layer on the casserole.  It's the best part so don't go light on the pepperoni! 

5.  Top with mozzarella and paremesan cheese.

6.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 min. or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. 

Serve this up with some garlic bread and enjoy!  It's simple, fast, and you only dirty one pot and one casserole dish!

Blueberry Oat Waffles

Wow I have slacked off on posting recipes this month!  I blame the new job- 7 less hours in my day to get this done, as well as my recent landmark of reaching the 3rd trimester - I'm getting tired much more often!  Anyway, I've still been cooking something different every day and we've eaten a LOT of great food.  This was our Saturday morning breakfast.  Blueberries were on sale at Sprouts (the Farmers Market) for only $1.99 a pint.  Yes, a full pint.  Incredible.  So, we ate a lot of blueberries last week!  These waffles were amazing and much more healthy than the normal white flour ones!  Here's what you need: 

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour  (I used 1/3 white flour and 1/3 wheat germ)
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk (I used coconut milk)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup ground pecans (I didn't have these but I bet they're delicious)
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries

DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the milk, egg, oil and lemon juice; stir into dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in pecans and blueberries. Let stand for 5 minutes. Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown.

My husband and I LOVED these.  So much more than normal waffles. I felt so nutrition-savvy as I substituted in some wheat germ and coconut milk.  I'm trying to incorporate more whole foods into my cooking and am having a LOT of fun.  Once I have some extra cash I'm going to go crazy buying glass jars to store all of my dry goods in (like wheat germ!).  Anyway, these were dense and didn't rise as much as white flour waffles but we actually liked it a lot more that way.  Try these, they're so good and don't leave you feeling sick afterwards.  Just very satisfied and full of oats and wheat and blueberries! 

Almond Mandarin Salad

     Sometimes Jackson and I feel like we eat a LOT.  Especially when we visit our parents' houses where there is always an abundance of food and dessert.  As a result, we are going through a phase where we are craving lighter foods so we can stop feeling like our stomachs are about to burst from all the food we've shoved in them.  I had this salad planned (thank-you allrecipes.com) and just added chicken to make it a meal.  We ended up having company over so I made a quick loaf of bread as well to make sure everyone got enough to eat.  I recommend grilling the chicken, especially if you have a George Foreman.  I cooked mine stove top because it was my only option but I envy those of you with grilling power.  

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon dry hot mustard
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 (15 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 bunch green onion, diced
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds
• grilled chicken (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until evenly brown. Drain, cool, and crumble.
2. To make the dressing, thoroughly blend the vinegar, honey, dry mustard, celery salt, paprika, and olive oil.
3. Place lettuce, oranges, green onion, bacon, and almonds in a serving bowl. Toss with dressing and serve.

This salad is DELICIOUS.  The dressing is perfect and the whole thing comes together in a jiffy.  Feel free to serve it up as a side dish instead, and be sure to serve it to company, they'll love it!  

Chicken Nugget Parmesan

     A while back I bought some generic brand chicken nuggets that were on sale.  Bad idea.  They are not very good.  When I cooked them up the first time, my husband really didn't care for them.  That's an impressive feat since there are VERY few foods that would make my husband turn up his nose.  Alright, so we're chicken nugget snobs.  Deal with it.  Moral of the story:  I can't buy name brand chicken nuggets until I use up the huge bag of generic brand chicken nuggets in my freezer.  I googled ideas to use chicken nuggets in and thought this was a great idea.  It's fast.  It's good.  And it puts a smile on my husband's face rather than a frown. 

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)

12 chicken nuggets

Jar of favorite spaghetti sauce

spaghetti

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1.  Prepare chicken nuggets, according to package directions.  

2.  Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan boil some water and then add desired amount of spaghetti.  (I HATE trying to measure out how much spaghetti to cook!  I hope you are better at this than I am!) While spaghetti and nuggets are cooking, in a small sauce pan heat your spaghetti sauce.  

3.  When the nuggets are done, your noodles are cooked and drained, and your sauce is heated through, you're ready to assemble.  Serve up the spaghetti noodles.  Divide the chicken nuggets and place on top of the noodles.  Spoon the sauce over the noodles and nuggets.  Top with parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  

Serve with a salad and lick your plate clean of that tasty spaghetti sauce. 

Chicken Panini

     Looking for a restaurant quality sandwich without all the work?  This is your sandwich!  I can't get over how deliciously flavorful this thing is.  I adapted the original recipe to suit my own tastes and to use up what I already had on hand.  So, before listing the ingredients, here's what you need to know:  Use whatever bread you want.  I used homemade french bread.  You could use regular sandwich bread but for the gourmet effect you really should upgrade to some sort of thicker bread.  But if not, that's fine too. I also used precooked frozen breaded chicken patties.  I just put them in the oven and cooked according to package directions so they would be nice and hot on my sandwich.  You could use any boneless chicken that you want though, the original recipe calls for grilled chicken strips.  I enjoy having a bag of precooked chicken in my freezer for quick meals such as these though! Okay, on to the ingredients: 

INGREDIENTS

Bread

Chicken

Sliced swiss cheese (or provolone if you prefer)

Tomato slices

Pesto sauce, prepared (I bought mine in a little jar in the pasta aisle)

Butter or margarine for spreading

DIRECTIONS

1.  Prepare chicken.  Butter one side of each piece of bread, as if you're going to make a grilled cheese (For a healthier option, use olive oil).  On the other side of each piece of bread, spread on your pesto sauce.  I didn't measure, I just put a thin layer on, the same way I would spread mayonnaise on a different sandwich.  Place your chicken on top of one piece of bread, with the buttered side on the outside.  Place a slice of cheese on top of chicken, then a slice of tomato.  Place your 2nd piece of bread with on the sandwich, with the buttered side on the outside.  

2.  On a preheated pan on medium heat, grill your sandwich until golden brown.  Flip and remove when 2nd side is golden brown.  Just like a grilled cheese.  

Now serve it up with some potato chips and fresh fruit and go enjoy! I hope you're as satisfied as I was! 

Yogurt Parfait

     I saw this idea on a cooking blog a few days ago and have been dying to have it since.  I don't know if it's a pregnancy craving or what, but I've thought about it constantly for the past 3 days and have been working towards getting the ingredients.  Monday I bought the yogurt.  I've never tried vanilla yogurt because I'm not a fan of vanilla ice cream but I went out on a limb knowing it just wouldn't be the same with any other flavor of yogurt.  I'm so glad I did.  I also bought strawberries Monday but we ate them all before I got the ingredients for granola.  Besides, they weren't very fresh to begin with.  So, today I went to the farmer's market, bought ingredients to make homemade granola (see previous post) and loaded up on fresh yummy looking strawberries.  Once home, I made the granola and then excitedly assembled this beauty.  

     I about died from happiness after my first bite.  Besides discovering I do in fact like vanilla yogurt, I couldn't get over how well it went with those fresh strawberries and the soft crunch of homemade granola.  I know, this isn't a novel idea.  And it's definitely not the first time I've put granola in my yogurt, but I've never combined all three.  My life has been changed.  Forever.  I can't wait to eat this every day for the next week.  Maybe longer.  Go on and make your own. Feel free to get hooked.  It's super healthy! 

INGREDIENTS (1 serving)

6 oz. vanilla yogurt

2-3 strawberries, sliced

granola 

DIRECTIONS

1.  Layer half of the yogurt then half of the strawberries, as much granola as you want, and repeat once more.  Or, if you don't care about it looking really pretty and parfait like, just pile it all in a bowl and eat up! 

Homemade Granola

 
 I make homemade granola bars but it never occurred to me to make homemade granola.  I decided to give it a try.  I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com that sounded good and had a ton of great reviews, made my shopping list, and headed to my local Sprouts Farmer's Market (You could probably find the ingredients in Wal-Mart but I didn't want to take on the rows and rows of food searching, and plus, I wanted fresh not almost-rotten strawberries.  Hence, the Farmer's Market.  I think I fall in love with that place more every time I go.  Really, all it took was one sale on fresh asparagus at $1/lb. and I was hooked.  This time, the strawberries were on sale, so I loaded up for a day of making granola and strawberry jam.  But first, the granola: 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

NOTE:  Those are the ingredients for the original recipe.  However, I did not have walnuts and used 1/2 c. rice krispies cereal instead.  I also added 1/2 c. sweetened coconut because I like it.  Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.  I found oat bran really easily at the farmer's market, it was in one of the many bins that are ready to be scooped from.  Mason jars work great to store your extra ingredients by the way.  And I don't know about your local store but the oat bran only came to 77 cents for about 2 cups so it's not going to break the bank.  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.
2. Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl. 

1. 3.  Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. 

1. 4.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.  HINT:  Don't turn on the heat until you have added all of your ingredients, you may end up burning the sugar by the time you add everything else! 

1. 5.  Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20-25 minutes. Stir once halfway through. Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.

The pan that was on the top rack of my oven turned out a bit more crispy than the one on bottom so you may want to switch the pans up when you stir that way one pan isn't over exposed to the heat.  I added raisins to one of my pans- the one I plan on using for snacking and left the raisins out of my 2nd pan - the one I plan on using on top of yogurt.  Personal preference.  Either way, this stuff smells AMAZING in the oven and it tastes SO GOOD!  So much better than store bought granola AND cheaper.  It's a bit of an investment to buy all of the ingredients if you don't have the nuts and stuff but it makes a ton.  Totally worth it.  Go make some granola, it's super fast, not sticky or hard to manage, and really flexible for you to add ingredients you think would make it perfect for you.