BLT Salad

BLT Salad
From Taste of Home Dec and Jan 2011; modified

4 C. pasta (~13.5 oz.)
2 lbs. bacon
2 lg. seeded tomatoes, chopped
1 C. ranch salad dressing
6 C. romaine lettuce, torn

Cook 4 cups spiral or penne pasta according to package directions; drain. Cook and crumble 2 lbs. bacon. Add 2 large seeded chopped tomato and 1 C. ranch salad dressing; toss with pasta. Combine with 6 C. torn romaine before serving. Serves 6.

Seafood Shells

Seafood Shells
From LDS Living magazine July/August 2010
This is not necessarily a favorite in the Cannon household; however, it would be nice to have every once a while. We might later try to make it as a sauce over other kinds of noodles mixed together much like a tuna noodle casserole.

12 oz. Jumbo pasta shells (16 shells)
1 Tbsp. Oil
1 C. finely chopped broccoli florets
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 C. plain, lowfat yogurt
1/4 C. light mayonnaise or light salad dressing
1/2 tsp. dill
1/8 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 C. shredded carrots
1/4 C. finely chopped seeded cucumbers
2 cans (6 oz. each) crabmeat, well drained and flaked
Salad Supreme seasoning

Cook pasta shells as directed on package. Drain and rinse. Place shells upside down on a paper towel to drain them more completely and allow them to cool slightly. In a small skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add broccoli and garlic. Stir and cook until broccoli is tender-crisp. Remove from heat. Combine yogurt, mayo, dill, and salt in a medium bowl. Blend well. Add carrots, cucumbers, crabmeat, and cooked broccoli mixture; blend well. Spoon 2 Tablespoons mixture into each shell. Place in a 13" x 9" baking dish. Sprinkle with Salad Supreme. Cover and refrigerate. Serve cold.
Makes 16 seafood shells.

Creamy Chicken Penne

Creamy Chicken Penne
From Taste of Home April/May 2010, Modified by Laura Cannon

Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Makes 4 servings, 2 cups each

2 Cups Penne Pasta, uncooked
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced (or 12 oz. can)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 oz. snow peas (or Sugar Snap Peas)
1 small red pepper, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. Flour
1 1/2 C. Milk
4 oz. Cream Cheese, cubed
1 tsp. salt
dash pepper
1/2 C. Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook chicken and onions in hot oil in large skillet for 6-8 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring frequently. (Necessary if chicken is raw.) Add snow peas, red pepper, and garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Stir in flour until well blended. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boil; cook on medium heat 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Add cream cheese, grated cheese, salt, black pepper, and parsley. Cook 1 - 2 minutes or until cream cheese is melted completely and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly.

Drain pasta; place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture and sauce; toss to coat.

Kathy's Hearty Minestrone

Kathy's Hearty Minestrone
This was given to us by Charlie's Mom from a recipe in a cookbook she found. This is delicious! The whole family liked it. The heading says, "Here's another recipe for you, and it might just be the best minestrone soup on the planet. Don't let the number of ingredients intimidate you - almost everything is in a can. If you can find the courage to make this once, it is going to be one of your favorite recipes. It makes a big enough pot of soup that you'll be able to eat ten or twelve bowls of it. Don't leave out the fennel seeds, even if you've never heard of fennel. Fennel is what makes this recipe so good."

1 pound Polish sausage (hot or mild)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lg. onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
4 (14-oz.) cans chicken broth
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 oz.) box chopped frozen spinach (make sure it's chopped!)
1 1/2 C. sliced carrots
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 (19 oz.) can red beans
1 C. small dried pasta (shells if you can find them)
1 (10 oz.) package frozen cut green beans
Grated Parmesan cheese, for topping

Pierce the skins of the sausages with a fork; place them in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked. Drain the liquid into a separate bowl. When the sausages are cool enough to touch, cut them into small slices.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, lightly brown the sausage slices in hot olive oil. Add the onions and the garlic, and cook until the onions are softened. Add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes (including liquid), frozen spinach, carrots, basil, oregano, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce the heat and let it simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost tender.
Add the red beans (including liquid), the pasta, and the frozen beans. Let mixture simmer 5 to 7 minutes more, or until the pasta is tender but firm. Season the soup to taste. (It can be thinned with additional chicken broth or with the water from boiling the sausages, if necessary). Serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese.
Serves 10 to 12.

About 15 grams protein per serving?

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff

Makes 6 servings

2 lbs. ground beef

2 medium onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 ½ oz. can mushrooms

1 ½ cups sour cream

4 Tbsp. flour

2 ½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Milk for desired consistency

1 cup bouillon (optional)

3 Tbsp. tomato paste (optional)

1. In skillet, brown beef, onions, garlic, and mushrooms until meat and onions are brown. Drain. Pour into slow cooker.

2. Combine sour cream and flour. Add to mixture in slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients.

3. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

4. Serve over hot buttered noodles.

Lasagna

Lasagna

1 lb. lasagna noodles (approx. 12 – 18 noodles)

30 oz. Ricotta or cottage cheese

2 Tbs. Parmesan Cheese

1 lb. sausage

2 Tbs. Parsley

2 raw eggs

Mozzarella or Muenster cheese

In a large pot, cook the noodles. Add the oil to the water. Drain and add cool water so you can handle the noodles. Leave noodles covered in cool water as you work.

In a large bowl, empty the cottage cheese. Add the parmesan, parsley, and eggs. Mix well. NO SALT. Lay aside.

Spread the bottom of the lasagna pan with sauce…Then a layer of noodles. Then add mixture of ricotta, then sausage, then mozzarella, then sauce, then noodle. (repeat underlined part.) Cover the top with a little sauce, then mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Let cool for ½ hour before serving.

Kolleen's Irish Spaghetti

Irish Spaghetti

Brown:

1 onion

½ C. cilantro

1 lb. mushrooms

1 lb. ground meat

Add:

1 lg. can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 lg. can Tomato Soup

Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine everything together with cooked pasta.

Cincinnati-style 5-way Chili

Cincinnati-style 5-way Chili

From May 2009 “Family Circle” Magazine modified by Laura Cannon

2 Tbsp. ground chili powder

1-2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled

½ tsp. dry mustard

¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ tsp. beef granules

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 medium-size yellow onions, minced

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped

2 lbs. ground turkey, plain or Italian-seasoned

29 oz. can tomato sauce

2 cans (15 oz. each) Kidney Beans or Red Beans, drained and rinsed

1 lb. Spaghetti, whole wheat or white

Shredded cheese, Cheddar or Fiesta Mix

Chopped onion, for serving (optional)

1) Combine list of spices from chili powder to beef granules. Set aside.

2) In a frying pan, heat olive oil until it begins to sizzle. Stir in onions and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add green pepper, salt, and ground spice mixture. Sauté for 2 minutes longer. Add ground meat and stir. Brown the meat.

3) In the slow cooker, add tomato sauce and beans*. Then add the ground meat mixture into the slow cooker as well and mix. Cook for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low.*

4) About 20 minutes before you want to eat, bring a large pot to a boil. Cook spaghetti following package directions, about 10 minutes. After noodles are drained, add them to the slow cooker to mix in with the chili. Mix in cheese to taste or serve as a topping. I like to mix in about 1 cup of cheese into the whole thing.

* You may desire to wait to put the beans in until cooking the noodles.

* If you would like to make this a day ahead of time, the recipe suggests to refrigerate chili over night (minus noodles) to allow flavors to full meld. I think that it tastes great made the day of OR after refrigeration!

Makes 12 servings Prep 15 minutes Cook 2 (or 4) hours, 20 minutes

May Refrigerate overnight