Cabbage Sloppy Joes

This has become a family favorite.  We served it open-face style with a slice of cheddar cheese and a dill pickle. 


Cabbage Sloppy Joes
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3 T brown sugar
2 T lemon juice
1 T vinegar
1 T mustard
1 t salt

Brown ground beef in large skillet with onion, green pepper, and cabbage. When thoroughly browned, added remaining ingredients. Simmer on medium low for 10 minutes.

Number of Servings: 6
Nutritional Info:
Calories 266; Fat 16 grams; Total Carbs 19 gram; Fiber 2 grams; Protein 15 grams
Exchanges: 1 Starch, 2 Medium-Fat Meat, 1 Vegetable

My New Favorite Way to Make Chicken

Food on the Table calls this "Country Chicken." I call this my New Favorite. Very flavorful way to cook bone-in chicken that falls off the bones.

I did make a few changes. First, I halved the recipe because, even though it says 4 servings, four pounds of chicken is a lot and to me is more than four servings. Second, I used seasoning salt instead of the salt and pepper. Personal preference.

I served this over biscuits, but you could also serve it over rice or noodles.


Country Chicken

1/4 cup butter
2 lbs cut up chicken, with skin and bones
1-2 tsp seasoning salt
2 cups chicken broth or stock (I had turkey stock in the freezer so I used that)
1 cup water
1 cube chicken bouillon
8 oz sour cream

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Season the chicken pieces, then place in the pot. Cook until skin is browned, turning as necessary.

2. Add chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil and add chicken bouillon cube. Stir until dissolved. Cover and simmer over low heat for 35-45 minutes until chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender.

3. Remove chicken pieces from pot and set. Stir sour cream into the broth. Serve chicken and broth over biscuits, rice or noodles.


This makes a lot of broth, so the nutritionals will be less if you don't use up all the sauce. Also, we don't eat the chicken skin so the fat grams will increase if you do.
Nutritional info:
Calories - 214
Fat - 14 g
Carbs - 2.2 g
Protein - 20 g

Vegetable Lasagna

I love lasagna. Evidence: Crockpot Lasagna, Philly Cheesesteak Crockpot Lasagna, and Vegetable Chicken Crockpot Lasagna. I've also made Tara's Garden Lasagna recently. (Her recipe has tomato sauce, this one does not.)

I didn't make this particular recipe in the crockpot, but you could easily adapt the above recipes with the below ingredients. Make sense?

This was yummy! I used all local, in-season veggies, including fresh basil from my herb garden. It was great. It still makes a mess in the kitchen, but it's totally worth it!


Vegetable Lasagna

1 T. olive oil
1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 medium zucchini, shredded (or yellow squash)
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium sweet potato, shredded
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (optional; I can't eat them)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg
2 cups light ricotta cheese (light cottage cheese works as well)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 t. dried basil leaves or 1 T. fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
4 T. butter
4 T. flour
2 cups nonfat milk
1 t. salt
1 T. garlic powder
1 1/2 cups water
9 uncooked (no boil) lasagna noodles
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T. fresh parsley chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with nonstick spray.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, mushrooms and garlic. Cook 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain off any excess liquid.

Beat egg in a medium bowl. Add ricotta cheese, Swiss cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and basil. Mix well.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. When melted add flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes until flour has a nutty smell. Increase heat to medium high. Gradually add milk, salt and garlic powder. Stir often, making sure no lumps are forming. As sauce begins to thicken, add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. (You can substitute a 16 oz jar of Alfredo sauce instead of making your own.) Once sauce is thickened and cheese is melted, remove from heat and gradually add water.

To assemble lasagna, place 3 uncooked lasagna noodles in bottom of prepared baking dish. Top with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, half of ricotta cheese mixture and half of vegetable mixture. Layer fresh spinach over veggies. Repeat layers of noodles, sauce, ricotta cheese & vegetable mixture. Final layers will be noodles and sauce. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover dish with foil.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until bubbly around the edges. Sprinkle with parsley. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings, around 400 calories per serving.


Don't forget to visit my main blog Not a DIY Life to follow my journey toward healthy living!

Healthified Mac and Cheese

I'm trying to "healthify" a lot of our favorite recipes. This is your standard homemade mac and cheese recipe, using whole wheat pasta and the addition of carrot puree for nutrition.

1 box whole wheat pasta
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 cups nonfat milk
2 cups shredded lowfat cheddar cheese
1 cup carrot puree
salt, pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. With remaining ingredients, except carrot puree, make a cheese sauce. Pour sauce and carrot puree over pasta, stir to combine. 8 servings

Number of Servings: 8
Per serving: 290 calories, 6.5 g fat, 44 g carbohydrates, 14 g protein

Skillet Hash

This is a homemade version of those boxed hamburger helper meals. Since we are trying to eat less processed foods, for our health and for our budget, this is just as fast and easy as dinner-in-a-box!

This makes 8 servings. Each serving is about 200 calories!


Skillet Hash

1 lb lean ground turkey
4 medium white potatoes
1 large sweet potato
seasonings (I use a combination of Seasoning Salt, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder)
1 cup water
1 cup spaghetti sauce

Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet. Drain grease, if any.

While meat is browning, cut the potatoes into julienne strips. Add potatoes, seasonings, and water to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, depending on how big your julienne strips are. Stir occasionally.

When potatoes have reached desired tenderness, stir in spaghetti sauce. Allow to heat through. Serve!

Thanksgiving in a Crockpot

Wow. This is some good eats. A totally flexible meal depending on what you have on hand. Great for cleaning up leftovers too.


Chicken and Stuffing Crockpot Casserole

1 large sweet potato
2 cups shredded or cubed cooked chicken or turkey
2 cups homemade cream of something (or 1 can cream of chicken soup+1 canful milk, mixed together)
2-3 cups prepared bread stuffing (I had leftovers from Thanksgiving)

Layer ingredients in a 3-4 quart crockpot. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours. Enjoy!

UPDATED TO ADD: Depending on what vegetable you use, this is about 350 calories per serving.

My Pizza Dough

I have been meaning to post my recipe for pizza dough for the longest time. We usually have a weekly pizza night; for the fall and football season, it is Sunday night.

I started with a standard dough recipe and have tweaked it for our tastes. And of course, I'm using my trusty bread machine!

A few notes: yes, it really does need the baking powder. It is much too chewy without it. Also, we found that the ratio of 3:1 bread flour to whole wheat flour is just right for us. I add the ground flax meal for added nutrition, but you can certainly leave that out if you want.

For more recipes and kitchen ideas, visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.


My Pizza Dough

1 1/3 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp ground flax meal
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Directions:
Add all ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Choose the dough setting.

After the dough has finished rising in the machine, remove from pan and knead 4-6 turns on a lightly floured surface. Roll out with a rolling pin. Transfer to baking stone and finish preparing your pizza as desired*. Bake in a 450 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes.

*Here's how I finish our pizza. After transferring the dough to the baking stone, I rub a little bit of olive oil over the entire dough then spread my pizza sauce. Because I use regular spaghetti sauce, I doctor it up a bit by sprinkling Italian seasoning and either minced garlic or garlic powder over the sauce. Then top with cheese, other toppings, and a little more Italian seasoning.

White Pizza

This is one of my favorite ways to fix pizza! When I was growing up, I was not a fan of tomatoes or tomato products, so anytime I could order white pizza, I was all over it!

We usually have a once-a-week pizza night, and although my Hubby is a fan of more traditional pizza with lots of meat toppings, I think I need to convince him to let me make this every so often. It's so good!


White Pizza

your favorite pizza crust
1 cup part-skim ricotta
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella
2 Tbs grated parmesan
1 Tbs olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix the ricotta and garlic together in a small bowl. Place pizza crust on baking stone or pizza pan. Spread ricotta mixture over crust. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Add additional toppings as desired. (My experience is to keep the toppings simple. My favorite is cooked and drained spinach!)

Drizzle olive oil over pizza toppings. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your crust. Cool slightly before slicing.

Easy Stromboli

I've been looking for some new recipes to shake up our usual rotation. This stromboli recipe is great, and flexible with ingredients. Use your favorite pizza crust recipe or the kind you buy in the tube in the refrigerated section.

We used chicken, broccoli, and onion as our filler the first time. We're looking forward to trying a sausage, green pepper, onion combination next. The original recipe calls for turkey or chicken and spinach, but you can use whatever meat and veggies you like or have on hand. Only limited by our imagination!


Easy Stromboli

2 cups shredded or cubed chicken or turkey
1 pkg frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

your favorite pizza crust recipe or 1 pkg (11 oz.) refrigerated thin crust pizza crust
1 cup pasta sauce, divided
1 cup shredded cheese (we used a mozzarella/cheddar combination)
2 tsp low-fat milk
2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Roll your crust out into approximately a 14″x12″ rectangle on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon half the sauce down the center, lengthwise, leaving 3″ on either side. Layer spinach, turkey, and cheese over sauce. Cut 12 strips on both sides of crust. Fold strips over filling, so they overlap. Brush with milk and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (You don't need to cut the strips, but it makes it look pretty.)

3. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve with more sauce for dipping.

Amish Chicken Noodle Casserole

This is a great dish to use up leftover chicken. The week after I wrote this post about my frugal $5 chicken, I got two more whole chickens for $7 - for both of them! So we've been eating a lot of chicken lately! I cooked them in the crockpot, with about 4 cups of water, a couple of bay leaves, and some seasoning salt. Then I shredded the leftover chicken and froze it in ziploc bags, 2 1/2 cups to each bag. I also froze the broth in 2 cup amounts.

That has made meal planning very simple lately. Just pull out a bag of chicken and a bag of broth in the morning, and they were ready for this casserole in the afternoon.

I asked Hubby for some ideas of what meals he would like, and chicken and noodles was one of his choices. I had remembered having a chicken noodle casserole when I was a teen during a visit to an Amish farm. Of course, they had homemade noodles in their casserole. If you have time to make homemade noodles, go for it. I just haven't had that kind of time with a toddler underfoot! (Although I would like to try that again soon.)

The only thing I changed with this recipe is that I omitted the mushrooms (due to my allergy) and used peas instead. It turned out great!

Amish Chicken Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

• 8 ounces noodles, cooked
• 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
• 2 cups chicken broth (canned is ok)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Melt margarine, then add flour and stir until smooth.

2. Gradually add milk and broth, then seasonings and mushrooms.

3. Combine chicken, cooked noodles, and prepared sauce.

4. Place in an ungreased 9 x 13 inch baking pan and top with Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake at 350ºF for 35-45 minutes, or until heated thoroughly and top is browned slightly.

 

Nutritional Info:

Makes 8 servings

Calories: 281; Fat: 4 grams; Carbs: 48 grams; Fiber: 6 grams; Protein: 14 grams 

Creamed Chicken over Biscuits

This meal has a lot of different names; a few of them shouldn't be repeated on a food blog, as they may cause you to lose your appetite. My Hubby's family called this S.O.S. (sh** on a shingle).

Whatever you call this, it's a great way to stretch your food budget. I cooked a chicken in the crockpot this week and will be using the broth and leftover chicken from that to make this for our dinner tonight. Good comfort food that is frugal too - can't beat that!

I use whatever vegetables I have on hand: fresh veggies go in at the beginning, frozen veggies later. This a great way to use up whatever odds and ends of frozen veggies you might have hanging around. And use whatever type of meat you have: chicken, turkey, or even chipped beef or chipped ham.

For more recipes, please visit Carol who hosts Saturday Stirrings.


Creamed Chicken over Biscuits

2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper
(a few Tbs of milk if you like your gravy on the creamy side)
1-2 cups shredded chicken
your favorite biscuits or toast

1. Start by making a roux in a medium saucepan: melt butter over medium high heat, being careful not to let the butter get brown. Add flour and whisk together for 1 minute, until flour starts to have a "nutty" smell.

2. If you are using fresh vegetables, add them to roux at this point, whisking continually. Cook for 2 more minutes.

3. While continuing to whisk, add the broth slowly. Whisk until all flour lumps are gone, then stir occasionally until broth begins to thicken. If you are using frozen vegetables, add them at this point. Add milk and shredded chicken and continue to stir until gravy has reached desired thickness.

4. Serve over your favorite biscuits or toast.

Red Beans, Sausage, and Rice

Another Lazarus Project recipe, courtesy of blogging friend and Twitter peep, Lisa. I left her notes intact. Thanks for sharing, Lisa!



Red beans, Sausage, & Rice

2 cups dried red beans

1 T Creole seasoning

1 tsp salt

cold water

2 T canola oil

2 links sausage, cut lengthwise & then into 1/2 inch half-moons (calls for andouie, we use turkey sausage)

6 cloves garlic, peeled & cut into thin slivers (or pre-minced from the jar)

4 scallions, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces (we just use onions, actually)

4 cups just-cooked rice

salt, pepper, tabasco sauce to taste

1. Combine the beans, creole seasoning, and salt in a saucepan, add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to ta boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender & falling apart (between 45 minutes & a couple hours, usually).

2. Remove from heat and allow the beans to cool in the cooking liquid. (Can be prepared to this point up to 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate when the beans are cool.)

3. While the beans are cooling, heat the oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until the sausage begins to brown, 5-7 minutes. Lower heat to med and add the garlic and onions (or scallions). Cook, stirring, until the onions start to soften (5-7 minutes). Season, to taste, with tabasco, salt, & pepper.

4. To serve, stir beans together with rice.

Beef Goulash

This week, our church has challenged us to participate in the Lazarus Project. This is a great frugal meal that I'll be making tonight. I knew Hubby couldn't go the entire week without meat so here is one meal idea that is inexpensive yet will keep the carnivores in your life happy.

I'll be posting more frugal meal ideas all week long, including some great beans and rice recipes that my tweeps (my Twitter peeps) shared. Please feel free to come back and visit every day this week!

For more recipes or kitchen tips, please visit Lisa who hosts Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Beef Goulash

• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1 cup carrots, julienned
• 1 15 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1/2 cup water or beef broth
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp brown sugar or honey
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 lb. pasta

In skillet, brown and drain ground beef. In large saucepan, place beef, water or broth, carrots and canned tomatoes. Cover with paprika, cloves, salt/pepper and brown sugar/honey. Bring to a boil.

In small bowl, whisk flour and 1/4 cup water. It will form a thin paste. Add the paste into the beef mixture. Stir well. Reduce heat. Simmer until carrots are cooked through. Add sour cream and heat through. Let simmer to allow excess water to boil off if necessary.

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Serve goulash beef over or mixed in with pasta with side of favorite veggie!

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

I love stuffed peppers, but I hate all the work of actually stuffing the peppers. So adapted my mom's stuffed pepper recipe to be a casserole instead. Can't believe I haven't shared this before now!

Don't forget to visit Lisa at Blessed with Grace for more Tempt My Tummy Tuesday recipes and kitchen tips!

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

1/2 cup onion -- chopped

1 can diced tomatoes -- 26 oz. can

1 large green pepper -- chopped

1/2 cup long-grain rice -- uncooked

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded

In a skillet, brown beef; drain. Transfer to a greased 2 quart casserole. Add the next 8 ingredients. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until rice is tender. Uncover and sprinkle with the cheese; return to the oven until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Or assemble casserole in your crockpot. Cook on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 4 hours. Top with cheddar cheese 10 minutes before serving.

Mom's Homemade Mac n Cheese

Yes, I have a wonderful crockpot Mac N Cheese recipe. But sometimes I need a little comfort food, just like Mom would make. Mom's recipe is more of a method; I don't think she really measures quantities for this. I've done my best to guess measurements!

Click here for more Tempt My Tummy Tuesday posts!



Mom's Homemade Mac n Cheese

3 cups macaroni
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
salt and pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheese (I usually use 1 c cubed Velveeta and 1 c shredded cheddar)

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions.
2. When you drop the macaroni to cook, it's time to start the cheese sauce so that the two are done approximately the same time.
3. Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Do not allow butter to brown. Stir in flour until it forms a paste. Cook and stir for one minute. (You've just made a "roux.") (you can use a whisk of some sort for this.)
4. Add milk to saucepan, stir to remove lumps, increase heat to medium high heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Stir often (almost continuously, but not quite) until sauce begins to thicken. Add cheese and continue stirring until all the cheese has melted.
6. Hopefully by this point, your macaroni is cooked. Drain macaroni and return to pot. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and stir gently to combine.

There you have it - Mom's Homemade Mac n Cheese!

Spaghetti Carbonara

When we were out of town in early January, we had dinner at a friend's house. She made spaghetti carbonara, which I had heard of but had never tried. It was wonderful, and Hubby asked me to make it for him at home.

I asked another friend of mine, who is Italian, if she had a good recipe/method for making carbonara, but she had never made it. So I searched the interwebz. I read a lot of recipes, and combined what I read to make spaghetti carbonara this week.

It was absolutely wonderful and will be making many repeat appearances at our dinner table! The eggs, olive oil, and parmesan cheese combine to make a wonderful sauce. Using turkey bacon makes it a healthier option. Serve with a salad or side of veggies.

And don't forget to visit Carol, our host for Saturday Stirrings.


Spaghetti Carbonara

1 lb spaghetti
olive oil
8 slices of bacon, diced (I used turkey bacon)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat. If you use turkey bacon, you might need to add olive oil. When bacon is halfway done, add onions and saute until translucent. For last minute of cooking, add minced garlic.
3. While spaghetti and bacon are cooking, beat 2 eggs in a small bowl. Before draining spaghetti, add about 1 cup of spaghetti water to eggs to temper. (This will heat up the eggs without causing them to scramble.)
4. When spaghetti has reached desired tenderness (I prefer mine al dente), drain spaghetti and return to pot. Toss with olive oil. Do not return to heat! Immediately, pour beaten eggs over hot spaghetti. Toss quickly to coat spaghetti and allow the heat of the noodles to slightly cook the eggs.
5. Add bacon mixture (you can drain off most of the grease, but I didn't since I used the turkey bacon and there wasn't much grease to begin with) to the spaghetti. Toss to combine.
6. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, and toss one more time.

Heather's Meatloaf

I made this for our dinner tonight. It was scrump-dilly-icious! My mom always made the best meatloaf when I was growing up. It was an oft-recurring dinner - meatloaf, baked potatoes, and green beans. Yum!

I like using ground turkey instead of ground beef because there won't be much fat to collect around the loaf.

For more recipes, don't forget to visit Saturday Stirrings, hosted by Carol at I Throw Like a Girl.


Heather's Meatloaf

1 lb ground turkey
1 lb sweet Italian ground sausage
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 egg
1/4-1/2 cup milk (start with 1/4 cup, add more if you need more moisture)
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp paprika
handful of leftover crackers, crushed

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands. Make sure everything is well combined. Form into two loaves, either using 9x5 loaf pans, or free form on a lipped cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of your loaves. Remove from oven, allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing. Top with Heinz 57, or, if you must, ketchup (yuck). This is a moist, flavorful meatloaf and does not need much additional flavoring. Just my opinion. Keep it pure, people!

Salmon Cheese Casserole

Sometimes you have cans of things in your pantry, and you just don't know what to do with it. When I was growing up, my mom made salmon patties out of the canned salmon, so that's what I always made. And they are pretty good. But sometimes you need to shake it up a bit.

This tastes almost exactly like those salmon patties, except this recipe calls for cheese. I like cheese. So I double the amount called for. You decide whether you want to do that or not. Also, I left out the mushrooms. Mushrooms don't like me.

And, I didn't have any bread crumbs. I used a combination of crushed Fiber One cereal and crushed crackers. And I didn't feel like mincing an onion, so I used onion powder.

So what I'm saying is, do what works for you. This will still turn out great! Remember, salmon is a great way to get your Omega-3 fatty acids!

Don't forget to visit Lisa for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday!



Salmon Cheese Casserole


14 3/4 oz can salmon, canned without salt, but with liquid
4 oz can mushrooms, drained
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp minced onion


1. Flake fish in bowl, removing any bones. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into lightly greased slow cooker. (I used my 4 qt. crock pot.)

2. Cover. Cook on low 3-4 hours.


I served this with brown rice and steamed vegetables. Now, go make some salmon and help your heart!

Sloppy Joes

I have never attempted making my own sloppy joe mix before. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good this tasted! Good is an understatement - this was fabulous!!! This is adapted from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook.

Instead of serving this on buns, I made sloppy joe pockets. I made pizza dough in my bread machine using the dough cycle. (I use this recipe from The Natural Mommy.) When I took it out of the machine, I kneaded it for a few minutes then divided it into 8 (mostly) equal parts.

Once I had each dough glob worked into a circle, I piled on the sloppy joe mix, piled it with shredded cheddar cheese, then folded the dough over and pinched the edges to seal. I baked them at 450 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Fantastic!!

For more tempting recipes and kitchen tips, click over to visit the home of Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Sloppy Joes

1 Tbs olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 cup sweet potato puree (you can use baby food as a shortcut)

2 large carrots, finely chopped

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup squash puree or pumpkin puree

1/2 cup water

2 Tbs worchestshire sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1. Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil to skillet. Once the oil is heated, add onion, celery, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until onions begin to become translucent.

2. Add ground turkey to skillet. Break apart and brown until all pink has disappeared.

3. Add remaining ingredients. Stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pasta e Fagioli al Forno

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I tried recently. It takes just like the Pasta e Fagioli soup at Olive Garden. I was pleasantly surprised! (EDITED TO ADD: This tastes like the Olive Garden soup, but is actually a casserole!)

This recipe is not really labor-intensive, but does involve 3 pots/pans on the stovetop. A little juggling ability is needed. That's my only criticism of this dish. But the taste is worth it, if you can keep up with it all!

For more great recipes and kitchen tips, visit the home of Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.



Pasta e Fagioli al Forno
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2008


Salt
1 pound penne rigate or whole-wheat penne
1/4 pound pancetta, 3 to 4 slices thick cut like bacon
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 ribs celery from the heart with leafy tops, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 to 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves finely chopped
1 fresh bay leaf Freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can small white beans "Roman" beans, such as Goya brand or, cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
Nutmeg, to taste
1 1/2 cups grated Romano


Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, cook pasta to just shy of al dente.

Chop pancetta into 1/4-inch dice.

While pasta cooks, heat a skillet with olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add pancetta, cook 2 to 3 minutes then add celery, carrot, onions, garlic, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf to the skillet, season with salt and pepper. Saute the vegetables until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Add beans and heat them through. Stir in 1/2 cup wine, simmer 30 seconds more and turn off heat.

Remove bay leaf.

While vegetables cook, place a small sauce pot over medium heat, add butter, melt butter then whisk in flour and cook 1 minute then whisk in milk. Season sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg and reduce 4 to 5 minutes, stir in half the grated cheese, turn off heat and adjust seasoning.
While sauce cooks, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat broiler to high.

Drain pasta and return to the pot, toss with white bean mixture and sauce, stir to coat, transfer to a casserole dish, top with remaining cheese and place in oven to brown, 5 minutes.