Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti

Source-Real Simple Cookbook

Ingredients

• 12 oz box of ziti (about 4 cups)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2lb lean ground beef
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 26oz jar marinara sauce
• 1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed (about 4 cups)
• 1/2 cup ricotta (used full 15oz container)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (used 2 cups)

Preparation

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cook the pasta according to the package directions. 
• Drain the pasta and return to pot.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 4-5 minutes.
• Add the beef, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
• Cook, breaking up the beef with a spoon until it's no longer pink, 5-6 minutes.
• Toss the pasta with the meat mixture, marinara sauce, spinach, ricotta, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan.
• Transfer to 9x13 baking dish or 4 large ramekins.
• Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Bake until the cheese melts, 12-15 minutes.

Review & Changes-  This had really good flavor.  I liked the freshness of the spinach even in a baked dish.  Of course the cheese was great.  If anything it could have used a bit more marinara sauce.  An easy meal that tastes good.  I'd make this again.

Southwest Chicken Skillet

Source- Betty Crocker Easy Family Dinners Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 lb bag frozen broccoli, corn and red peppers (mine also came with cauliflower)
• 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup thick and chunky salsa (used full 16oz jar)
• 2 cups coarsely crushed tortilla chips
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preparation

• Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
• Cook chicken in oil 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown.
• Stir in frozen vegetables, beans and salsa.
• Reduce heat to medium.
• Cover and cook 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp tender.
• Sprinkle with tortilla chips and cheese.
• Cover and cook about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Review & Changes- This turned out really good.  My husband was surprised at how much he liked the tortilla chips in it.  Of course in the leftovers the chips weren't crunchy anymore, but they still were good.   I definitely think the recipe needed the full jar of salsa instead of just 1 cup.  I started with just the cup, and it didn't look like enough, so I didn't immediately go to the whole jar.

Fudgy Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

Source- Family Bites via Pinterest

Every once in awhile I get the urge to make a dessert.  We usually have cookies in the house, but sometimes I want something a little different for a sweet treat.  These looked really good and not too hard to make.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C butter, melted
• 2 C graham cracker crumbs (32 squares) 
• 1 8 oz. bag toffee bits
• 1 roll refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
• 1 12oz. bag chocolate chips
• 1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 T butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

• Grease 13x9 baking dish and heat oven to 350.
• Have the roll of cookie dough sitting out for around 10 minutes to soften up.
• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the 1/2 cup of melted butter, 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs and 3/4 cup of toffee bits.
• Pour mixture into the greased pan and press evenly until mixture covers bottom of pan. 
• Refrigerate for around 15 minutes.
• In a 2 qt saucepan, heat the milk, chocolate chips and the tablespoon of butter over medium heat. 
• Stir frequently until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. 
• Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. 
• Spread the mixture over the graham cracker crumb mixture.
• In another medium mixing bowl, break up the cookie dough and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs until blended. 
• Crumble the mixture evenly over the chocolate layer and the sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup toffee bits on top.
• Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until it's golden brown. 
• Cool completely before cutting, probably around 2 or more hours.

Review & Changes- These are super rich.  Of course that isn't a bad thing, but a small piece goes a long way.  They are an amazing combination of chocolate and toffee.  The crust layer doesn't really get hard so they stay nice and chewy.  Definitely amazing, you should make these!

Roasted Vegetables with Rice

Source- Me!

I did have an inspiration for this recipe, but it called for cooking the tomatoes in an aluminum foil pouch on a grill.  Since I don't have an indoor grill or outdoor grill I decided that I'd cook them in the oven, and then I also added a zucchini and squash.  I was making pork loin and knew I needed some sort of side to go with the vegetables, so I opted for rice.  That is how this whole thing came together.

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow squash, chopped
• 2- 12oz bags of cherry tomatoes with stems removed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• seasoning salt
• pepper
• 3 cups uncooked brown rice
• water for rice, or chicken stock/broth

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
• Place vegetables in bowl.
• Add oil, salt and pepper
• Mix until vegetables are well coated.
• Pour onto covered cookie sheet.
• Bake in oven about 20 minutes, or until vegetables are well cooked and tomatoes start to pop.  
• While vegetables are roasting, cook rice according to package directions.  I used minute rice so that I didn't have to wait so long.
• After rice has finished cooking and set, pour into large mixing bowl.  
• Add vegetables and any juices that have accumulated.
• Mix well and serve hot.

Review & Changes- I am a genius!  OK, maybe not really but this recipe was great.  I've never cooked with zucchini or squash but knew that I liked them because of trying them at restaurants in a mixed vegetable medley.  I'm glad I included the rice.  It made the vegetables a little bit more without overpowering them.  Plus having roasted veggies and brown rice as a side instead of a potato made me feel that we were eating healthy.

I'm sure you could change up the veggies or even add in different seasonings, but they aren't necessary.  After this success I will be using zucchini and squash again!

Pork Chops with Creamy Gravy and Vegetables

Source- Pillsbury One-Dish Meals Cookbook

I've made other recipes out of this cookbook.  Every once in awhile I decide that I should cook something out of the cookbooks I own instead of always referencing the internet.  This recipe did not disappoint.

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick (used boneless)
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 10.75oz can condensed cram of celery soup
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 3 cups frozen cut green beans
• 1 1/2 cups frozen potatoes with onion and peppers

Preparation

• Spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray.
• Heat over medium-high heat until hot.
• Sprinkle pork chops with seasoned salt.
• Place in skillet.
• Cook 5-6 minutes or until browned on both sides.
• Remove chops from skillet, cover to keep warm.
• In medium bowl combine sour cream, soup and sage, mix well.
• Pour in skillet and add vegetables.
• Arrange chops over vegetable mixture, press gently into mixture.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low.
• Cover and cook 10-15 minutes or until pork chops are no longer pink in center and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Review & Changes- This recipe was really easy to make.  The flavor was really good and you didn't have too much of one thing.  I think this recipe would also work with cream of mushroom soup, but no changes are necessary. 

11 in 2011, 5/6 of the year check-in

Finish my pharmacy technician class with at least a 95% average.  I only need an 80% to pass, but I want to do better than that.  Did.  Finished with 98.7%  Also took the certification test in August and passed it. 

~Save money for Christmas presents by October.  I want to be able to buy for more people this year, so H and I are planning on making a joint effort to save better and be prepared for gift buying ahead of time.   Pretty set.  Got almost $200 in Meijer gift cards set aside and we have plans to save more.

~Be pregnant by the end of the year.  This one may be a long shot though.  We'd like our kids about 2 years apart.  I just have no idea when we feasibly can start TTC for Baby Rebel #2 because of my job situation.  Plus it took us just over a year to conceive Baby Rebel #1, and I'm not going to get my hopes that #2 will be easier.  So we'll play this one by ear.  No luck yet, we've been trying since February.  Probably 3 cycles left till the end of the year.

~Have a job shortly after getting my certification.  I'm very hopeful that with the internship I'll do and the bonus of being a Certified Pharmacy Technician that gaining employment won't be hard.    Not yet.  Need to do better at job searching and have H look over my resume.

~Lose weight by my class reunion.  I lost about 30lbs after having Baby Rebel, but I have gained quite a bit since high school.  So while I'm realistic that I won't be able to reach my high school weight by August, I would like to lose some more and feel better about myself.  Fail. Did nothing to lose weight.  Now my goal is to lose weight by my sister's wedding next June. 

~For Baby Rebel to have an awesome checkup with his specialist on February 10th.  He'll have another u/s on his liver to make sure the hemangioma on it is still gone.  I'm very hopeful that that appointment will be the last time we have to visit!  Pass, completely clear of hemangiomas by Feb.  All clear in May of the fistula the radiologist saw.  No more specialists and no more ultrasounds.

~To help my H find a better job.  He graduated from college in May 2007 and still doesn't have a "career".  He has jobs that pay our bills.  I would really like to help him get into a job that is long term and he loves.  Complete.  Got a job as security guard at a big hospital in June.  Much better insurance and better pay.  He quit the mall security job when he took the hospital job and quit Meijer in the last 2 weeks.  For the first time in over 4 years he is only working 1 job.

~Get the sisters tattoo with my 2 little sisters.  We've been planning this for awhile, and my littlest sister finally turned 18 this past December!  This is the Celtic symbol for sisterhood that the 3 of us will be getting on our lower ankle area.  Not definitive on the location.   Completed on June 24^th.  We got them on the inside of our left wrists.   We opted to get the first 2 initials of our names around the center.  I think they turned out pretty nice. 

<--Close up of my arm.

~Do something girly for myself.  Be it getting a mani/pedi, or something else.  Do something without Baby Rebel and H that is just for me.  Not yet.

~Update my 101 in 1001, and see what I stand with accomplishing that.  My finish date is March 14, 2012, so I still have some time to work on the list.  I haven't done anymore since my last update.  There are some more updates I need to post, and some that are still in progress.  Finishing all 101 doesn't seem likely to happen. 

~Just enjoy everyday with H and Baby Rebel.  Time is flying and I can't believe that in 8 days I'll have a 7 month old.  So I want to cherish every moment with my 2 guys and make the most of our time as a family of 3. Absolutely have.  And I have photographic proof of everything.  Time flies so I have to enjoy every moment.  

Overall- Very happy with the fact that I'm making most of my goals.  Feels good to know I'm accomplishing what I said I wanted to back at the beginning of the year.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Source- Joelen's Culinary Adventure's

Jolelen does not disappoint.  When I see something on her blog that I think LOOKS good, I know it's going to TASTE great!  

Ingredients
Chicken:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Casserole Sauce:
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (16 ounce) jar chunky salsa
1 1/2 cup cream of chicken soup (I used homemade, but you can use store bought)
1/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup canned black beans, drained
1 cup canned sweet corn, drained
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
6 (12 inch) corn tortillas, cut into strips
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced for garnish

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  
• Combine the spices in a small bowl and season the chicken breasts. 
• Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until cooked through, about 20 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and allow to cool until able to handle by hand. 
• Once cooled enough to handle, shred chicken. 
• Set aside until ready to layer the casserole. 
• In a large bowl, mix sour cream, salsa, cream of chicken soup, onion, black beans, corn and tomatoes.  
• Layer the bottom of a deep casserole dish or 9x13 inch baking dish with 1/3 tortilla strips. 
• Top with 1/3 cooked chicken, 1/3 bean and corn mixture and 1/3 cheddar cheese. 
• Repeat layering with remaining ingredients.  
• Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. 
• Let stand about 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with green onions

Review & Changes-  I loved this recipe.  Cheesy and great flavors, can't miss.  Definitely will make again, and nothing need to change.