Sautéd Zucchini

My Giant Eagle has cooked food that you can buy and eat without having to do any cooking, maybe just reheat the food when you get home.  When I'm at the grocery store at lunch time, I usually grab something from the food bar to save myself the hassle of making lunch.  The other day, I tried their sautéd zucchini.  Yum yum!

My take on their recipe is very simple.

Ingredients:
Zucchini, green and yellow, diced
Red pepper flakes

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a sauté pan.
• Add the diced zucchini and the pepper flakes.
• Cook until the zucchini starts to lose it's firmness.
• Serve.

Stir-fry Veggies

We tend to eat a lot of stir-fried vegetables in our house, so this recipe has many variations. 

The basic recipe that I make is to cut up a green pepper and a red/orange/yellow pepper and some onion.  I put this into a large pan with a little olive oil and some minced garlic.  Add a little salt and ground pepper and then  I lightly saute this until the vegetables are just warmed.  Serve.

Sometimes, depending on what I can find in the grocery store that looks good, I will add green beans, snow peas, or snap peas.  Other items that can be added include bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and mini corn cobs.

This is a great meal by itself or it can be used as a side dish.

Rice Pilaf with Basil

Here is my take on Rachael Ray's Arugula and Basil Rice Pilaf which I found in her "365: No Repeats" cookbook and adapted it because of a lack of ingredients.  I love it and think that it's a great summer recipe that can serve as a side dish or stand on it's own if that's what you want.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 box of Rice Pilaf
• 15 leaves of fresh Basil, shredded or torn

Directions:

Heat the water and butter in a medium size pot until it is boiling.
Add the Rice Pilaf, both rice and seasoning, to the water.  Reduce the temperature and simmer for 18 minutes, covered.
Remove from heat.  Add the basil and fluff with a fork to mix everything together.

Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4-6 chicken breast, halved
• 30 oz mandarin oranges (drained)
• 30 oz. sliced pineapple (drained)
• 16 oz. maraschino cherries (drained)
• 1 package of stir-fry chicken seasoning
• peppers, diced into large chunks

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients in the crock pot.
• Cook on LOW Heat for 6 -8 hours or on HIGH Heat for 3 - 4 hours.
• Serve over rice.

NOTE:  To give this dish a tangy taste, add in the drained pineapple juice.  Otherwise, add water to the crock pot until all of the ingredients are covered.

Baked Perogies

I saw this recipe on the back of a box of Mrs. T.'s Mini Perogies and love it.  It works for any size perogie and is a nice variation if you are tired of sauteing perogies or boiling them.

The mini perogies can be used for either a meal or an appetizer.

Ingedients:

• 1 box of frozen perogies
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 T. hot sauce

Directions:

• Heat the over to 400.
• Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
• In a plastic bag, mix the perogies, olive oil, chili powder and hot sauce until the perogies are coated thoroughly.
• Place the perogies on the baking sheet in a single layer.
• Bake for 20 minutes, turning the perogies over half way through.
• Serve with sliced celery and ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Easy Spinach Lasagna

I was in the mood for lasagna yesterday when I was at the grocery store and decided to be healthy at the same time.  Here is my recipe for spinach lasagna.

Ingredients:

• Fresh spinach
• Jar of spaghetti sauce (or your own homemade)
• 15 oz. ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• Box of ready-bake lasagna noodles

Directions:

• Preheat the over to 350 degrees.
• Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Mix the ricotta cheese,and parmesan in with the eggs.
  
• Cover the bottom of a 13x9 pan with 1/2 cup of sauce.
• Place a layer of noodles on top of the sauce, but not touching the sides of the pan.  Add a layer of the ricotta mixture, about a 1/3 cup.  
• Next, add a layer of washed and trimmed spinach.
• Cover this with a layer of sauce and then a layer of mozzarella.
• Repeat these five steps twice more.
• Top with a final layer of ricotta, spaghetti sauce and mozzarella.
• Cover with a piece of foil and put into the over to bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
• Let the lasagna stand for about 5 minutes to cool.
• Serve with your favorite spaghetti sauce.

NOTE: You can also use a box of frozen spinach that has been thawed and dried so that there is not a lot of excess water in it.

BBQ Chicken

I used my crock pot for the first time last night.  I've had this since I got married 5 years ago and never opened it.  Well, that is a thing of the past!  I will be using my crock pot much more now.

I made a really easy version of BBQ Chicken that was falling apart by the time that it was done, but was delicious!

Ingredients

• 4-6 chicken breasts
• 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ)
• Pineapple slices

Directions:

• Place chicken breasts in the crock pot then cover with your favorite BBQ sauce.
• Place pineapple slices on top of the chicken.
• Cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
• Serve with a side of BBQ sauce