Grilled Squash

A quick 'recipe', if you will, for grilling:

With the abundance of zucchini and yellow squash gardeners have this time of year, this is a good way to help mix it up a bit from raw or steamed.

Cut your favorite or most abundant squash, lengthwise into 4-6 inch long sections. Marinate in Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. Over night is best. I keep a ziplock with dressing in the fridge in the summer time. Then here's the real tip. If you cut the squash in quarters lengthwise, they fit nicely between the rack, without falling thru, rather than across it. This is good for a couple of reasons. #1 it allows it to cook more evenly, and #2 really cuts down on the 'sticking' problem without having to spray your rack beforehand. Grill for less than 10 mins or until it begins to brown. I even get kids and picky adults to try it and they like it!

2-4 Squash, washed, quartered lengthwise, in 4-6" sections
1/2-3/4 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Place on hot grill for approx 7-10 mins. No need to turn if you place them between the racks.

Submitted by: Pam

Categories: Vegetables_,On The Grill_

Smokey Salmon Pizza

1 can (7-1/2 oz.) Alaska salmon, drained and flaked
1 prepared pizza crust or Italian bread shell (about 12 inches or 16 ounces)
Cooking spray
1 package (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup red onion, thin sliced or chopped green onion*
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper flakes
1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded smoked cheese (Swiss, Cheddar or mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place pizza crust on cookie sheet, coat lightly with spray. Spread cream cheese over crust. Add salmon, vegetables, red pepper, and cheese. Bake 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted.

*One cup broccoli florets, microwaved for 1 minute, can be substituted for onions.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Submitted by: Pam

Categories: Fish_

Applesauce Spice Cake Recipe

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
3/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
2 Cups Sugar
2 Eggs
16 oz. Applesauce
3/4 Cup Raisins
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour 13x9x2 baking pan.

Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, netmeg, cloves and baking powder.

Cream the butter until light.

Mix the sugar into the butter and cream this mixture until fluffy.

Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition.

Add the flour mixture and the applesauce mixture, alternately, beating very slowly after each addition.

Lightly fold in the nuts and raisins.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until done.

Cool.

Submitted by: Chilady

Categories: Desserts_

Manicotti

12 uncooked Manicotti Shells (6 each in 8 X 8 Glass Pans)

In a bowl, mix either a large ricotta cheese, or a large cottage cheese container (one or the other depending on what's on hand hand in the fridge)

Along with the cottage/ricotta cheese an 8oz bag (two cups) of shredded mixed cheese, 'fiesta' blend. If you don't have that, use 2 cups shredded mozerella cheese.

1/2 cup parmasen cheese

Mix in two raw eggs, and 1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning, and about 1 tsp of garlic powder.

Mix this all together with a hand mixer to make it thick!!

Stuff the shells with this mixture and have 2 large cans of tomato sauce with mushrooms/green pepper (already mixed in the can)

1/2 can of the tomato mix goes on the bottom of the 8x8 glass pan...place stuffed manicotti shells onto the tomato sauce. The other 1/2 can goes onto the top.

There are 12 shells made, 6 each goes into one of 2 8x8 glass pans.

Cover the pans with foil and refrigerate for about 8 to 10 hours. About 30 to 45 minutes before serving, pop them into the oven at 375 degrees. Cook until bubbly.

The shells are tender but solid. (Not mushy) Al Dente is the term. Not overly soft.

Submitted by: Wystful

Categories: Italian_

Chicken Verde

Slow cooker - 1 to 1 1/2 cups water. Set slow cooker to high (it can be turned to medium after the 'stew' begins to boil)

1 whole chicken, thoroughly cooked in slow cooker and when done, deboned and skinned.
(saving the broth to add the pieced cooked chicken pieces)

In chicken broth*, with heat set at medium, add:

chicken pieces
2 cans of stewed tomatoes. (14.5 oz size)
1 whole fresh garlic - mashed
1/2 cup of prepared hot sauce (salsa with jalapeno)
(salt is not needed, but could be added if your taste calls for it)

Stew until well heated.

Serve in deep bowls as a main course soup with heated flour tortillas and tossed salad

Cooking time --all day for chicken, or until done.
1/2 hour or so preparing time for stewed mixture - until well heated
Servings : 6 -8

*I never clear the chicken fat, but it can be done if you wish to have a less fatty content. If so, cook your chicken ahead of time, freeze your chicken broth and when you take the broth from the freezer, you can scoop off the chicken fat and heat the broth and add the same ingredients above.

Submitted by: Wystful

Categories: Mexican_,Chicken_

Chicken, Artichoke, and Rice Casserole

This goes really well with a green salad on the side. The recipe calls for a whole chicken but I often use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs.

1 chicken (2 1/2 to 3 pounds), cut into serving pieces
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Non-stick cooking spray
1 1/2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil (Canola works well)
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup long-grain rice (I mix some wild rice in too)
1/3 cup dry white wine (any white wine will do, if you don’t want the wine, add another 1/3 cup of low-sodium chicken broth)
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme and rosemary, crumbled
1 package (9 ounces) frozen artichoke hearts, cooked and drained (I use the canned or jarred, so you don't have to cook them)
1 tablespoon minced parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken with the pepper. Lightly coat a 4-quart Dutch oven (I use an electric skillet) with cooking spray, add the olive oil, and set over moderate heat for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until no longer pink on the outside-about 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter and set aside.
   
   
2. Add the onion to the casserole and cook, uncovered, until soft-about 5 minutes; stir in the garlic and rice, and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the wine, chicken broth, lemon rind, bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary, and bring to a simmer.
   
   
3. Return the chicken to the Dutch oven and add the artichoke hearts, distributing them evenly. Cover with a piece of wax paper (only if using the Dutch Oven), then the lid. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the chicken is fork-tender and the rice fluffy. Discard the bay leave and sprinkle with the parsley.
   
   

Serves 4.

Submitted by: Moogie

Categories: Chicken_

Taco Salad

I posted this one a few weeks ago over at Moogie's World, but I wanted to see how things looked. This is a really good meal for a hot summer day, especially if you use left-over meats, which doesn't require you to heat anything up. Unless of course, you use some hot salsa or jalepenos!



We had a rare moment this week, in which both of the children were off with some friends for the evening. I made some taco salad and quesadillas. I'm really bad at "presentation" but I've posted some pictures of how it turned out. This recipe can be made many different ways, even low in fat and it still comes out fantastic. Especially on a hot summer evening.

Lettuce of any type, you can even mix them. In this case I used Spring Mix, Spinach, and American Salad Mix (bags...I go for simplicity).

Then, add anything you would normally put in a salad. In my case, because I used the American Salad Mix, I added mushrooms, bell peppers, green onions, and celery. Be creative!!!

Take a small onion, and dice it. Put about a tablespoon or less of oil in a pan, and sauté the onion along with some garlic in the pan. Add your meat of choice (I used ground turkey breast but any meat will do - leftover meat works well). Add chilli powder, basil...just use a bunch of different spices. When that's cooked (or heated up if it's leftover), add a bit of your favorite salsa, just enough to moisten the meat mixture and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Crumble some tortilla chips and lay them on the bottom of your plate or bowl. Top with salad mixture, and then the meat, and then some grated cheese.

The dressing is pretty much your choice but it goes best with Catalina or Russian (I used the lite version of both). Put some chips on the side to serve as scoopers.

As you can see, you can really vary this recipe alot. I'm trying to cook low fat, so I used the ground turkey breast, low fat cheese, and lite dressing. If you need me to be more specific in the ingredients, drop me a line and I'll send you a more structured version.

Bon Appetit!!!

Submitted by Moogie

Categories: Mexican_,Salad_