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.

Strawberry Pie

It's strawberry season, y'all! This time of year, I can eat strawberries for every meal and not get tired of them. Usually, I like to make strawberry rhubarb pie, but I didn't have any rhubarb this weekend. So I adapted the recipe for just strawberries - yummmmmmm!



Strawberry Pie

4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup tapioca
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all together in a medium bowl and set aside for 15 minutes.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening or lard
4-5 tablespoons cold water

(This makes 2 crusts.) Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture using a pastry blender or by criss-crossing two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cold water by tablespoon until all flour is wet and pulls away from bowl. Form into a ball.

Divide dough in half. Roll half of dough out on a floured board with a floured rolling pin. Roll dough back onto pin to transfer to 9 inch glass pie pan. Trim excess dough.

Pour filling into pie shell. Dot with small pats of butter. Roll remaining half of dough out and transfer to pie plate to cover filling. Trim dough and crimp edges with bottom crust. Make a few small slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until crust is lightly browned and filling bubbles slightly. (You may want to place a baking sheet until the pie pan to catch any drips!)

Allow to cool completely before serving. Enjoy!!

Granola Bars

I found this "recipe" on one of my new favorite blogs, Health Begins With Mom. Her instructions are for actual granola, with a footnote on how to make granola bars. Since I've made granola bars twice in the last two weeks, I decided to list the recipe here for easier reference.


Granola Bars

6 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 cup seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin)
1-2 cups chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, peanuts)

1 cup oil (I generally use 1/2 cup melted butter & 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce)
1 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt (reduce amount if nuts are salted)
2 eggs, beaten

The night before, mix oats, flour, and yogurt together with your hands. Break up lumps as much as possible. Loosely cover and place bowl on the counter. Allow to soak at least 7 hours.

Break up clumps and add coconut, seeds, and nuts.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Add oil, honey, vanilla, and salt, and stir until well combined. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients. Mix until combined.

Spread in a 9x13 inch pan and bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. Remove from oven when starting to brown around the edges. Allow to cool slightly, and cut into bars while still warm.

Variations: Add 1/2 cup melted peanut butter when using peanuts for a peanut-y granola bar. Or if you like cinnamon, add 2 tsp. cinnamon with the dry ingredients.

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.

Lima Bean Casserole

Can't believe I didn't share this recipe during the Lazarus Project. I really like the lima beans and tomatoes together - what a great combination of flavors! This is a great side dish to jazz up a regular weeknight meal.

For more recipes, check out Saturday Stirrings.



Lima Bean Casserole

1 pkg lima frozen lima beans (28 oz)
1-14.5 oz can tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cracker crumbs
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Prepare beans according to package directions; drain well. In saucepan, combine tomatoes and cracker crumbs, heat for 2 minutes. Add beans, onion, pepper, and cheese; mix well. Pour mixture into a 8x8 casserole. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.

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.