Zucchini Quiche

Do you have zucchini at your house? Then you must make this recipe. It was so good, I made it for my family dinner one night, then made it for a girly lunch with the women in my extended family a couple days later. Everyone raved about it, from the non-zucchini lovers in my house, to my two-year-old, to my husband, and my grandma.

Another thing I have to say is this is the way to prepare zucchini as a side dish. No more of this steaming mushy stuff. Slice your zucchini very thinly, and cook it up with some onions and garlic in a little bit of butter and top it with salt and pepper. It was so good I couldn't stop picking at it with my fingers while I prepared the rest of it. I used one of those ginormous zucchinis that come from your garden, so I sliced it as thinly as I could, then cut the slices into quarters.

I simply bought two frozen pie crusts at the store (they came in a two pack) and found a pound of gruyere cheese at Costco. I used a deep dish pie crust, so I added an extra egg and a little more cheese than the original recipe.

Zucchini Quiche
adapted from Our Best Bites

1 deep dish frozen pie crust
1 lb. zucchini
1 Tbl. butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 cloves garlic (I used 3 tsp. prepared minced garlic)
kosher salt
black pepper
4 eggs
1/2 Tbl. dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp. dry oregano
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, depending on how much kick you want
8 oz. gruyere cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (or if you are out like me, I substituted the powdery stuff and it still tasted great)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large skillet on the stove top, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add sliced zucchini and add a sprinkle of salt (about 1/2 tsp.) and a few cracks of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until zucchini is softened. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add dijon mustard, oregano, and red pepper flakes. (You might want to use the lower end measurement for red pepper flakes for kids.) Whisk to combine, then gently stir in Gruyere cheese.

Add egg and cheese mixture to zucchini mixture and toss until combined. Place mixture in prepared pie crust and sprinkler Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until center is set and top is lightly golden. Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Can be served warm, at room temp, or even cold.

Edit: I would add that if you are using an old zucchini, remove the seeds. The first time I made it with a ginormous zucchini from the garden, and the seeds softened up just fine and blended into the quiche. The next time I made it, the zucchini was a little older and the seeds didn't soften up and you had to pick them out as you ate it.

Pigs in a Blanket

Gourmet? Not exactly, but we have no pretensions here. I am including this dinner idea because I made these recently at the request of my boys after forgetting about them for a looong while...and my husband and my boys raved about them. So, while not gourmet, if any of the people at your house are in the under ten crowd or of the male variety, these are sure to be a hit.

Hot dogs
Crescent rolls

Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles and wrap each triangle around a hot dog. Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 for 11-13 minutes until golden brown. Serve with ketchup and mustard for dipping.

Chicken, Artichoke, and Mushroom Fettuccine

So I have to admit, before this dish I have never had artichokes before. I know that canned artichokes doesn't count, but I'm taking baby steps here! I was surprised to find they had kind of a tangy flavor. This dinner was so good, and the parmesan cheese sprinkled on top (forgot it for the picture) was the perfect finishing touch.

9 oz. fettuccine (I used whole wheat pasta)

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and sliced 

2 Tbl. butter

1 Tbl. flour

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 cups shredded skinless rotisserie chicken breat

14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half (I found a can of quartered artichoke hearts)

1/4 c. chopped green onions

fresh parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta. Drain and keep warm.

2. In large skillet, spray with non-stick cooking spray  and saute mushrooms and red pepper for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove and keep warm.

3. Add butter to pan. Add flour to melted butter and cook 1 minute until bubbly. Add milk, salt, and pepper. Cook 3 minutes until thick, stirring constantly.

4. Add mushroom mixture, chicken, and artichokes to pan. Cook until heated. Add lemon juice and green onions. Toss mixture with pasta. Sprinkler with parmesan cheese.

Serves 5-1 1/2 cup servings at 7 WW points per serving.

Chicken Bacon Sandwiches

I'm always on the lookout for a new, good sandwich during the summer months. I found this one over at Pioneer Woman and it was a hit with both the kids and the husband, and also my lovely sister with refined taste. Pioneer Woman has about a million pictures to hold your hand every step of the way through this recipe, so if you are making it for the first time, that is the place to go.

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
lemon pepper
peppered bacon
cheese (I used cheddar)
sandwich buns

Cut the peppered bacon in half and cook until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Pound chicken breasts until they are are an even thickness, just for uniform cooking.

Pour off the bacon grease, reserving about a tablespoon for cooking the chicken. Sprinkle each side of the chicken breast generously with lemon pepper, and cook the first side for 4 minutes in about a tablespoon of bacon grease. Flip over, and immediately cover each chicken breast with slices of bacon and a slice of cheese. Cover with a lid. Chicken should be done when cheese is melted to perfection. Serve on sandwich buns.

I loved the hint of tanginess from the lemon pepper, and really, how can you go wrong with cheese and bacon? Pioneer Woman says you can put a squirt of Grey Poupon on the roll if you like. My sister thought it looked like it would be too dry, so she put mayo on hers. I was surprised at how moist the sandwich was without anything on it. I didn't think it needed anything extra.

It was much easier to eat after it was cut in half. :) We'll be making these again soon. This recipe was a keeper in my book.

Shepherd's Pie

1 pound ground turkey or beef
1 can green beans
2-3 cans tomato soup
2+ cups mashed potatoes

Brown meat, breaking into bite size pieces while cooking. Stir in green beans, and tomato soup until desired consistency. Pour into 8x8 baking dish, top with mashed potatoes to make a crust. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, if desired.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until heated through.

Hawaiian Chicken

This is delicious! I love how easy it is. 3 ingredients? I can handle that. Thanks, Ashley!

1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. honey or grape jelly (I know it sounds crazy, but try it with the jelly sometime, no one will know)
1 lb ish chicken

Stick everything in a small pot on the stove. Put the lid on and turn it on low. At some point snip the chicken into bite size hunks with scissors. Let it continue cooking until the meat is thoroughly. Serve over rice. If desired, serve with pineapple chunks on top.

I have to add just under 1/4 c. soy sauce to make mine taste like Ashley's. Different brand soy sauce? I'm not sure what's the difference. But otherwise it turned out salty and not like the original that was so good.

Pita Pizza

We went through a stage where we made these personal pan pita pizzas a lot. They are small enough that everyone can have their own and choose their own toppings.

Pitas
Your favorite pizza sauce (I like Hunt's spaghetti sauce - the flavor and the price is much cheaper than pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
your choice of toppings

Bake them for 5-10 minutes at 350 (follow the directions on the pita bag) until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.

We make our own pizza dough sometimes too, but these are fun because they are so fast and the crust is crispier.

Southwestern Chicken Pizza

1 (10 oz.) Boboli thin cheese flavored pizza crust
Cooking spray
1 cup fat free spicy refried beans
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 c. shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend
2 chopped green onions (use some of the green)
1 Tbl chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 475°. Place pizza crust on ungreased baking sheet. Lightly coat crust with cooking spray. Bake for 5 min.

Combine beans and chiles in bowl and heat for 1 ½ min in microwave. Spread over baked crust. Sprinkle with chicken and cheese.

Bake at 475° for 9 min. or until cheese melts. Spoon salsa onto pizza. Top with green onions and cilantro.

Cut into 8 slices.

(4 WW points per slice)

My Favorite Omelet Combo

This is my favorite omelet combo. We'll even have them for dinner or lunch sometimes.

2 eggs, or 1 egg and 1 egg white
ham
mushrooms
pico de gallo
salsa
cheese

I have a small 6 inch fry pan that works perfect for omelets. I turn the heat to 7 (medium high heat), spray with PAM and cook the ham, mushrooms, and pico de gallo until the mushrooms are soft. Transfer this mixture to a bowl.

Whip up your eggs in a separate bowl, spray the pan with PAM non stick cooking spray again, and when your pan is hot add your egg mixture and evenly distribute eggs around the pan. You may have to scrape down the edges.


When the eggs are mostly cooked through, add cheese, ham, mushrooms, pico de gallo, and salsa.



Fold the omelet in half and let it gel together for a few seconds before transferring to a plate.

Bon appetit, omelette du fromage.

Orange Chicken and Spring Rolls

Now, I'll be up front with you from the get go. This is not a homemade recipe.

But the point is, my family thought it was. They raved about it. They all thought it was so good my husband wondered aloud why I had never ever made Chinese in all of our married life together. Which is the reason I'm posting it up here.

I figured they knew it was from a box. But they didn't. I kind of burst the bubble when I pointed to the empty boxes on the counter.

[photo credit: dinnersonme.blogspot.com
This is the same brand I used.
She also had a recipe for additional sauce to spoon over the rice.]

So we loved the orange chicken. The white steamed rice with it was a tasty combination. The spring rolls were a hit, but I didn't realize they were fried so I would try a lower calorie option next time.

Even my picky three year old believed us when we told him they were chicken nuggets with the ketchup already on.

Thumbs down on the Rice a Roni Fried Rice. Which we probably could have guessed before hand, but I like their chicken flavor and I really like their spanish rice with the tomatoes in it so I figured I would give it a try. Won't be making it again.

I got the orange chicken and spring rolls from Costco. It was fast, it was easy, the family scarfed it.

With leftovers I added a little water so it wouldn't dry out as I heated it and it ended up making a little more sauce, enough to spoon over the rice. It was really good this way.

Semi-homemade at it's finest. My only tip is: put away the boxes and take full credit for the meal.

Spike Chicken Salad

Spike Chicken breasts
1-2 heads Romaine lettuce
purple onion
black beans
tomatoes
croutons
olives
parmesan cheese
Light Ranch Dressing, or dressing of your choice

Prepare your Spike Chicken. I can't get enough of this stuff. It's just too easy and way too delicious.

While the chicken is cooking, make a bed of romaine and top with tomatoes, onions, blacks beans, olives, and croutons according to taste.

Slice the chicken into thin strips, about a quarter of an inch wide. Lay chicken across top of salad. (I used a whole breast for each adult and less for the kids.)

Top with parmesan cheese and Light Ranch Dressing.

Yummmmm. Feels and tastes like a restaurant salad. Serve it up with some cold lemonade and you'll have a refreshing summery dinner.

I made the salads up on each plate individually and just set the premade salad in front of my family when it was time to eat.

Pita Sandwiches

Mix things up: move your sandwich filling into a pita.

I used some olive oil mayo, ham, lettuce, and cheese. Whatever you like on your sandwiches.

To be honest, my kids didn't eat these very well. I thought they would love them. Pocket sandwiches? How cool is that? I was shocked a few days later when they scarfed a "tuna pizza," aka tuna fish mixed with mayo and spread on the top of a pita. I think it must have been the presentation since they were cut into little pizza shaped wedges. Personally, I thought the pita sandwiches were much better.

Here's to mixing things up and trying something new.

Cheeseburger Pie

1 lb. ground turkey or ground beef
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. shredded cheese

Brown ground beef with onion and drain. Spread in a pie plate sprayed with Pam and sprinkle with salt and pepper and cheese.

1 1/2 c. milk
3 eggs
3/4 c. Bisquick

In a blender beat milk, eggs, and Bisquick on high speed for 15 seconds. Pour into pie plate.

Bake at 400 until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean - about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

You can double this recipe and bake in a 9 x 13 pan.

High altitude: Bake 10 inch pie about 35 minutes. Bake 9 inch pie 30-35 minutes.

My five-year-old gave this dinner "thousands of thumbs up."

My husband calls this "the brother of Breakfast Pizza." If you like breakfast pizza, it's a pretty sure bet you'll like this too. It doesn't have as much egg and the flavor is a little different so it's a little more dinner-ish than breakfast. As if we wouldn't eat breakfast pizza for dinner anyway....

It's also fun to eat when you make it in a glass pie dish and your slices are wedges of a pie.

Serve with ketchup if desired.

Minestrone Soup

A new recipe from my Mom.

4 c. canned tomatoes
4 c. water
1 can beef consommé (Campbells Soup)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
4 stalks diced celery
3 large diced carrots
1 tsp. basil
1 Tbl dried parsley
1 Tbl Sugar
½ tsp oregano
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Put all these ingredients in a large pot and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 45 min to 1 hour.

1 lb sweet Italian sausage
2 large onions, chopped

Brown sausage and onion together and add to pot.

1 can cut green beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 c. elbow macaroni (uncooked)
2 small zuchinni cut in half the long way and then sliced

Continue to simmer until macaroni is tender, about 15 to 20 min. Salt and pepper to taste.

I like to double the liquid because there doesn’t seem to be enough.

This soup is very low in points (1 or 2 points per cup if I remember right?).

Cottage Cheese Lasagna

1 lb. hamburger

3/4 c. chopped onion
1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbl. sugar
2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 c. water
12 oz. lasagna noodles (9 noodles for a 9 x 13 pan)
1 raw egg mixed into 2 c. cottage cheese
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 c. grated mozzarella cheese

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, garlic salt, salt, pepper, sugar, and oregano. Simmer until meat sauce is thick. Cook lasagna noodles until tender in salted water (10 min). Rinse in cold water. Grease 9 x 13 pan. Put a layer of noodles in bottom, a layer of meat, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and cheddar cheese. Repeat 2 more time (3 layers) ending with cheese on op. Bake at 375 for 30 min. and let sit for 30 min.

Serving suggestions: Olive Garden Salad and Easy Garlic Bread.

Note: When I have my own bottled tomatoes, I use 1 jar of tomatoes and delete the water.

Here's the consistency of the sauce before you assemble the lasagna.

Originally posted 4/3/07 without picture

Basic Salmon

Leave a comment on how you like to prepare your salmon.

Salmon filets
Lemon pepper
Seasoning salt
butter

Prepare a cookie sheet with a piece of foil large enough to fold loosely around filets.

Lightly sprinkle both sides of the salmon with lemon pepper and seasoning salt. Put a small amount of butter on top of the salmon, about 2 tablespoons (depending on how much fish you have).

Bring the edges of the foil together, fold and tightly seal first the top and then the sides. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 for about 20 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the amount and thickness of your filets. For me they are usually done shortly after it starts to smell good.

Spoon additional juices over salmon filets just before serving. We like to eat it with mashed potatoes and gravy made with cream of chicken soup and milk mixed in until it is the right consistency. The gravy is good with the salmon too.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Thanks to my sister-in-law Nancy for sharing her awesome picture with me. Believe me, her photo far surpasses my original photo of the next day leftovers.

I've been wanting to try this recipe from Stephanie and it was a hit at our house. My family didn't even make the connection between tuna noodle casserole and chicken noodle casserole, they compared it to chicken noodle soup instead. They thought it tasted like chicken noodle soup, minus the broth. Genius, I know.
Stephanie used half of a Costco rotisserie chicken. I threw some chicken breasts and Good Season Italian in the crock pot early in the day. When it was done I roughly shredded it so I still had some larger chunks of chicken, then used it in this recipe. I also didn't have fresh parsley. Stephanie's probably tasted better (we all know hers LOOKED better than my photo of the leftovers), but that's the beauty of it - even with my inferior ingredients it was still really good.
12 oz. wide egg noodles, cooked according to pkg directions (I use No Yolks)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 breasts of chicken, chopped and cooked
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
fresh parsley, chopped
For the topping:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
Cook pasta according to package directions, set aside. In a large skillet, melt butter and add onion and garlic. Cook until onions are soft, just a few minutes. Add flour and whisk together and let it brown a bit. Slowly add the milk and chicken broth. Cook on medium low until bubbling and the mixture starts to thicken. Add salt and pepper, chicken and noodles. Combine well.
Pour into a greased casserole dish. Mix the melted butter and breadcrumbs until well combined. Sprinkle on top of the noodles. Cook in a 375 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until breadcrumbs are nice and toasted. Top with fresh parsley.

World Famous Hamburgers

2 lbs. hamburger
4 Tbl. barbeque sauce
4 good shakes garlic salt
1/2 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper
cheddar cheese
1/2 can black olives chopped fine

Mix all ingredients together except cheese. Form into 1/3 lb. balls. Cut balls in half and add a chunk of cheese between halves. Form into hamburger shapes, sealing cheese in the center of the burger. Make sure edges of burger are tightly sealed so no cheese is exposed.

Barbeque and brush additional barbeque sauce to the outside of the burger. Hamburgers are usually done when cheese starts oozing from the sides.


Originally posted 3/30/2007 without pictures

Spike Chicken

Thanks to my friend Stephanie for this great tasting and easy recipe. You should definitely look through her recipes. They all look so good.

The secret ingredient to this chicken is the Spike seasoning. Like Stephanie, I had to go to the Good Earth grocery store to find it.


Chicken cutlets
Olive oil
Spike seasoning

Heat olive oil in hot pan, place chicken in pan, lightly sprinkle with Spike, cook until center is cooked through.

I sprinkled both sides of the chicken breast with Spike but I used too much seasoning. Stephanie says sometimes she will sprinkle the Spike into the olive oil and cook it that way. Next time I make this I will still sprinkle each side of the chicken, just use less spice than I did this time.

My first time making it, this piece was good but had too much seasoning:


This one was perfect (and closer to what Stephanie's look like too!).



This recipe was too easy. It will definitely be added into the regular rotation at our house.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

I love this spaghetti sauce. It's thick, just the way I like it. This is really easy, and not too sweet like so many store bought pasta sauces (in my opinion).




I always make it with angel hair pasta. This last time I tried to mix things up and used linguine. My husband appreciated the variety and liked it, but I decided I liked the angel hair better and the angel hair is easier for the kids to eat. They had a hard time getting the fatter noodles on their forks. I always break the angel hair in half before I put it in the boiling water. Also easier for the kids to eat themselves so I don't have to cut the noodles up on their plate before eating.

I made up this recipe myself and just kind of throw it together every time I make it so forgive the vague directions and measurements.

1 lb. ground turkey or beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 zucchini, sliced or chopped
tomato sauce, 32 oz. or more
basil
garlic

Brown your meat in an electric fry pan with an onion. Add the green pepper, sliced mushrooms, zucchini (I like big chunks in little half circles but my family isn't as crazy about zucchini as I am. Last time I chopped it up small and my husband approved it).

Add tomato sauce. Honestly, the amount of tomato sauce I use depends on what vegetables I have on hand. I just add tomato sauce until it's the consistency I want it. At least 32 oz. and usually more I think.

Add garlic and basil. To be honest, I never measure these either. About a teaspoon of garlic. And I usually just sprinkle the basil over the top so it covers everything, probably 2-3 teaspoons. Or more. I don't know. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of sugar to help with the acidity of the tomatoes (probably depending on how the heartburn is that day, haha) but not usually.

Let it simmer 10-15 minutes.

Serve over angel hair pasta and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic bread and a fresh salad.


The pictures at the very top have a yellow and orange pepper (I was trying to use them up) and this picture at the bottom has a green pepper and whole wheat linguine pasta instead of angel hair.