AUGUST 2009--Red Pepper Pasta

So fast, so heavenly.....Satisfies my obsession with red peppers and Kam's obsession with sour cream and Parmesan cheese.

Red Pepper Pasta

Ingredients:

12 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
2 red bell peppers, julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups reduced fat sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable broth
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2.Meanwhile, spray cooking oil in a large skillet and saute red bell peppers and garlic over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir in sour cream and broth; simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
5. Toss hot pasta with sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste; serve.

Yield: Four servings

July 2009--Vegetarian Taco Soup

This is my favorite quick dinner--so fast it feels like I didn't make it. And so yummy!

VEGETARIAN TACO SOUP

1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can corn
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 packet taco seasoning
Baked Tostidos
Sour cream and cheddar cheese to garnish

These are the time consuming directions:
Open all the cans and pour into a pot (I drain almost all the liquid off the beans but keep a little to make it more "soupy"). Add the taco seasoning. Warm it up. Put Baked Tostidos into individual serving bowls. Ladle the soup over the chips and top with sour cream and cheese.

Viola! Dinner is done. (And yes, for you carnivores, you can add a pound of beef or chicken).

June 2009--Oatmeal Waffles and Pancakes

I got this amazing oatmeal waffle recipe from Erin's blog and have made them over and over. I went to a healthy breakfast class and got a recipe for oatmeal pancakes that was almost identical to the waffle recipe, but nice to have if I want pancakes instead. Top with berries and whip cream, or some good ol' Mrs. Butterworth's.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Waffles

1 c. oats
1 1/8 c. milk
1 heaping TB brown sugar
2 eggs
2TB canola oil
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

In a medium sized bowl, pour milk over oats. Let soften for 5 minutes. Add sugar, eggs, and oil. Mix well. Add dry ingredients, stir. Pour over lightly buttered waffle iron and cook until golden brown.


Oatmeal Pancakes

1 1/4 c. milk
1 c. rolled oats
1 TB oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 TB brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine milk and oats in a bowl and let stand at least 5 minutes. Add the oil and beaten eggs, mixing well; stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Cook on griddle using 1/4 c. batter for each pancake. Makes 8-10 4" pancakes

May 2009- Black Bean Lasagna

I make this dish a lot when I have guests over. I'm always nervous that people will think my food is "weird" so I stick to the tried and true when company comes. This is a recipe that people always say they like (and it seems sincere). It is also one of the first vegetarian recipes I started making. Give it a try--you won't be sorry.

Black Bean Lasagna 10 no-cook lasagna noodles 2 cups spaghetti sauce 1 cup salsa 1 tsp. EACH cumin & minced garlic 2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained 15 oz. ricotta cheese, lowfat 1 egg 1/4 c. skim milk 1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese 2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese Directions: Combine sauce, salsa, cumin, garlic and beans. Combine ricotta, egg, milk and Parmesan. Layer in a 9x13 pan, starting with a thin layer of sauce, noodles, ricotta, more sauce, then cheese. Repeat to make 3 layers. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. You can also use regular noodles, simply cook before proceeding with recipe.

April 2009--Three Cheese Calzones

THREE CHEESE CALZONES

I love recipes that look fancy but are super fast and easy to make. Kameron loves these calzones; he asks me to make them all the time.

Yield: 4 Calzones

1 (10 oz) can refrigerated pizza dough

1 (15 oz) can pizza sauce

1 c. (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. (4 oz) non-fat or part skim ricotta cheese

1/4 c. (1 oz) grated Parmesan cheese

Any vegetables you would like to add. I usually dice up some green pepper, mushrooms, and onion.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Unroll pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into four equal portions. Press or roll out each portion into a 6" or 7" circle.

Spread 2 TB of the pizza sauce onto each circle within 1/2" of the edge. Favoring one side, top each with 1/4 c. mozzarella, 2 TB ricotta, 1 TB Parmesan, and vegetables. Fold over the other side, pressing edges tightly to seal. Cut three slits in the dough on top of each calzone. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. While the calzones are baking, warm the rest of the pizza sauce and serve over the calzones.

March 2009--Granola and Granola Bars

I recently went to a cooking class about making your own healthy breakfast foods. I loved this recipe for granola--especially because honey was used as the sweetener and there was no oil. It was also dirt cheap to make and Kameron loved it. Give it a try!

Granola

8 cups rolled oats (I used half quick oats and half rolled oats)
1/2 bag coconut (about 7-8 oz)
1 cup nuts (I use pecans--yum!)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup honey (you can use less if you want less clumps--about 1/2 cup)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1-2 cups raisins or dried cranberries (don't add raisins until after granola is baked)

Combine all ingredients except the raisins or cranberries. Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted brown on top. Let it cool completely then spread raisins or cranberries over the top. They will get mixed in as you use a spatula to put granola into an airtight container. There are many ingredients that you can add to the basic recipe above for more protein or fiber such as: oat bran, wheat bran, whole or ground flax seeds, sesame seeds, dry milk powder, etc.



Granola Bars




I got this recipe for granola bars from Jenny in my ward who taught a class this month on food storage. We were able to sample some recipes that were made from food storage items. I made these granola bars for the class and then made another batch tonight--I highly recommend these. They taste like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but I feel better about eating them because they're labeled "granola bars." It's gotta be healthy, right?

Granola Bars

• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup brown sugar--you can reduce the amount of sugar; I usually use a 1/2 c.
  
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup honey
• Mix-ins like chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, etc. I used 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup coconut, 1/2 c. sunflower seeds, and 1/4 c. wheat germ.
  

Mix all the ingredients and press into greased 11x13 pan. Dough will be very dry and crumbly, but press until dough forms with pan. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes or until edges are browned. Take out and let cool entirely. Hint: Cut the granola bars before they are completely cool. They get stiffer as they cool and harder to cut! I made this mistake the first time and was trying the chisel the granola bars into strips.

February 2009--Vegetarian Korma

For Christmas Eve, the Barnett side of the family ordered Indian food. It was absolutely amazing and I have been craving korma ever since. I found this great recipe for vegetarian korma. It is wonderful. Please try:

Vegetarian Korma (serve over rice)

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 potatoes, cubed
4 carrots, cubed
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced
3 tablespoons ground unsalted cashews
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
1 bunch fresh cilantro for garnish


DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until tender. Mix in ginger and garlic, and continue cooking 1 minute. Mix potatoes, carrots, jalapeno, and cashews. Season with salt and curry powder. Cook and stir 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Stir peas, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and coconut milk into the skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro to serve.

Recipe and picture came from allrecipes.com