One Pot Lasagna

This is a great weeknight dish with a lot of flavor and comfort. Enjoy!

One Pot Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb sweet italian sausage, crumbled (taken out of casings, if applicable)
1 small onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp italian seasonings (or a bit of onion and garlic powder, dried basil, parsley, oregano)
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1.5-2 cups broth (beef or chicken)
1 8oz package no boil lasagna noodles, broken up.
1.5 cup ricotta cheese

In a large skillet over medium, brown the sausage until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the liquid.

Add onion and cook a couple minutes. Add bell peppers and seasonings. Cook 5 minutes or so.

Add the sausage back along with the crushed tomatoes. Add the noodles and stir around. Add enough broth to just cover the noodles. Simmer 10 minutes or so, until noodles are done. Add more broth if needed.

Check seasonings (salt) and serve with a few dollops of ricotta

Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Turkey Meatballs

I came across a similar recipe to this and have made it enough times I have tweaked it to become my own. They are DELICIOUS. Fast. You could very easily double or quadruple this recipe and freeze it. They are healthy with the turkey, and pair easily with a marinara, alfredo, vodka, or red bell pepper sauce over pasta. Or however else you eat desire to eat meatballs.

You could use other ground meats, or eliminate the spinach if you desire.

Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs (I use panko)
1/2 cup grated or shredded parmesan/asiago/romano or any combo thereof.
1 egg
4 sun dried tomatoes in oil, patted dry and diced.
1 tbsp sun dried tomato oil
1/2 cup frozen spinach (maybe 1/3rd of a package? I eyeballed it, sorry) thawed, drained, and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp dried minced onions
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp fresh chopped or 1 tsp dried basil and/or parsley, if desired
3/4 lb ground turkey

Preheat oven to 350

Set the turkey aside and mix all the other ingredients well. Mix the turkey in with your hands and form into approximately 20 walnut sized meatballs. Place on a baking dish and cook 25-28 minutes, turning halfway.

Monterey Chicken

I have seen this meal pop up in conversation several times, so I decided to look it up and make it. Super easy pantry meal, super yummy, and very simple.

Monterey Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts
1 cup BBQ sauce (I have used home made or Sweet Baby Rays)
1 can rotel, drained (save the liquid)
1 tbsp dijon
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
4 slices crisp bacon, crumbed
3 green onions, sliced

Directions:

Take turns placing a breast in a freezer bag and hammer it out so its all the same thickness. It doesn't have to be super thin and flat, but just flatted the thickest parts so they are even with the rest and will cook evenly. I use a rolling pin.

If the bag is still usable, place all the chicken breasts in the bag and add 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce, the rotel liquid, the dijon, and the worcestershire sauce. Seal with the air removed and smush around to evenly coat. Let marinade 1 hour at least, or overnight if possible. No more than 24 hours

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken in a baking pan and cover with foil. Cook 30-40 minutes, until done.

Meanwhile in a small bowl, mix the remaining BBQ sauce and rotel pieces together. Top chicken with rotel mixture and cheese. Put back in oven for a couple minutes until melted. Top with bacon and green onions

Spinach and Artichoke Pizza

Husb and I were wanting to spice up our homemade pizza night and decided to go with a nod to spinach and artichoke dip. This turned out just as delicious as it sounds.  This time we took advantage of the grocery store bagged dough.

Spinach and Artichoke Pizza

Ingredients:

1 pizza dough, par baked until just starting to lightly brown
olive oil
1 5- 6oz package of fresh baby spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion or large shallot, fine diced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
3 oz cream cheese
4 oz mozzarella pearls (or fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes)

Preheat oven to 425.

Heat up a large skillet over medium. Pour enough olive oil to coat the bottom and add the onion and garlic. Saute 2-3 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the spinach and artichokes and stir to coat in the oil. Cook until wilted, stirring often, 3-4 minutes.

Drizzle par baked crust with olive oil and spread the spinach and artichoke mixture on the top. Pinch off pieces of cream cheese and distribute evenly along with the mozzarella cheese.

Place on a pizza stone or baking sheet and cook around 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.

Breakfast Casserole

This is a great meal for a breakfast for dinner night, or for a special weekend breakfast. We had this Christmas morning along with cinnamon rolls.

If you have baked potatoes for one meal, make a couple extra to use later in this. Makes this meal a snap. Even if you have to start the potatoes, its still a breeze. Just wash, dry, poke, rub with oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake directly on the rack at 375 for around 45 minutes.

Any potato will work, but golds are especially good due to the thin skin and firm texture.

Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

3 cooked potatoes, cubed
1-2 bell peppers, diced
1 can diced green chilis
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 lb breakfast sausage (cooked, drained) or cubed ham
1.5 cups shredded cheese (whatever you want. Cheddar, colby, pepperjack)
8 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
few shakes hot sauce
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350

Layer the ingredients in a 9x13 pan. Potatoes, bell peppers, chilis, green onions, crumbled sausage, cheese.

Beat the milk, eggs, hot sauce, and S&P in a bowl and pour on top

Cook for 45-50 minutes, or until set.

White Bean, Kielbasa, and Kale Soup

Ok, so I am a fan of big pot of soup. Its cheap and nice to have around for leftovers for a few days. I haven't tried freezing this one yet but its probably fine.

I think that any greens would work in this, especially spinach. I am sure collards or chard would work too, but I don't have as much experience with them. At the first serving, the kale still had a nice texture that spinach would lose pretty quick.


You could use canned beans in a pinch, but why not make your own? Its much cheaper anyhow, and its pretty easy. I use this method. The white navy beans I used needed more like 90-95 minutes, so don't be afraid to add a little more time once you check them and account for a bit extra time so you aren't eating late. The soup can always simmer longer if its done too early.


Home made chicken stock is so great in soups like this. Its really not that much more work! Plan a whole chicken for one meal (or put in the crock pot and shred for another meal) and then put the bones and some veggies or veggie scraps in a crock pot or stock pot and simmer over night. Strain in the AM and presto, stock for your soup. No more salty and pricey store bought broth. Here is more info on this. 

I came across this version of the soup and it had the addition of a parmesan rind. Its optional, but highly recommended. Totally worth buying the block of parmesan at the store. You know you can use the rest somewhere. Or better yet, just make a mental note to keep leftover rind in the freezer for times like this. 


Ok, on to the soup

White Bean, Kielbasa, and Kale Soup

Ingredients:

1 package white beans (cannelloni, great northern, navy) cooked or 4 cans drained
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 package kielbasa, sliced 1/2" thick
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
Parmesan rind (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch kale, stem removed and cut into 1ish inch pieces

In a large dutch oven or stock pot, heat the oil on medium.

Brown the kielbasa on each side. Remove. Add the veggies and cook 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add the beans, broth, kielbasa, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, and rind to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper (i used home made stock and beans, so I needed a good amount of salt)

Let simmer for 15-30 minutes (at least long enough for veggies to be soft)

Remove bay leaf and rind. Add kale and let simmer 5 minutes and serve.

Simple Herb Stuffing

Yeah, so I could be a smart blogger and post all these awesome recipes before the holiday that they would be great for. But I am just a mom and just doing this for fun, so you get what I make, after I make it. But trust me, this is so yummy and easy, that I will be making it for more than just thanksgiving.

I am not a fan of fancy stuffings. I like it simple and good. I think I succeeded.

You can use virtually any bread you like for this.

I didn't get a picture this time, but I will add the next time I make it

Simple Herb Stuffing

1 loaf bread, cut into 1 inch pieces (or buy the bag of unseasoned dried bread cubes if you must)
8 tbsp butter
2 stalks celery, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced pretty thin
1 onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 cups chicken stock (get the very good stuff at the store, or better yet make it yourself. Or veggie)
2 eggs, lightly beaten

If using fresh bread, spread onto a cookie sheet and let sit overnight to dry out. Or place in a 20 degree oven for 10-20 minutes.

Melt the butter in a pan. Reserve half of it for later. Add celery and onion to the existing butter and cook a few minutes until really softened.  Add herbs and cook 1 more minute. Add a little salt and pepper.

Whisk eggs into broth. Put bread in a large bowl and add onions and celery and the broth and mix very well.

Pour into a buttered casserole dish and pour remaining butter on top.

Cook in a 350 oven 45 minutes