spaghetti with whole wheat pasta

Have you tried whole wheat pasta? It is delish!

*I make this sauce to taste so the measurements are just approximations. Taste it as you go and add more of whatever it needs!

Spaghetti Sauce:
lots of good olive oil
1 med. onion
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots
1 stalk celery and or 1 green pepper (or go without)
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon sugar
1 can crushed/puree tomatoes
ground beef
Salt & Pepper

Pasta:
Whole Wheat Penne noodles
boiling water
salt

Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to heated pan. Chop and add onion. Add minced garlic, salt and pepper. Let it sweat together for a couple minutes over medium heat. Chop and add carrots/green pepper/ (and or) celery. Add more olive oil. Stir and Cook until the veggies are soft and turn golden brown (10-20 minutes).  Next add tomatoes, italian seasoning, sugar and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile cook beef in separate pan. Add cooked beef to the sauce mixture.

Cook pasta according to directions and combine with sauce.  Top with parmesan and more olive oil (if you wish) and eat!

Coconut Chicken

This may sound like an odd combination, but it is favorite and tastes great - not to mention super easy.

The Goods

1 Cup flaked coconut

1/2 Cup flour

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 t. garlic powder

4-6 boneless chicken breasts

1 egg lightly beaten

To Do

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix coconut, flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Dip chicken into egg, then coat with coconut mixture. Place in a shallow baking pan. 

Bake 20-25 minutes turn chicken over and cook another 20-25 minutes

Serve with pesto sauce, or a simple baslamic.  Or alone is just great too.

Burrito Pie (adapted from familyfun.com recipe)

This recipe calls for a springform pan, but if you don't have one, any old pan will do and you could serve it more like a casserole then cut like a pie. Here is what you will need:

-1 medium chopped onion (for the ground beef if you would like)
-2 cloves garlic
-1 lb ground beef
-1 packet taco seasoning
-3/4 cup water
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernals
-4 10 inch flour tortillas
-1 cup salsa
-8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (can also use monterey jack)
-sour cream

First, brown ground beef with the onion and garlic until no longer pink.

Next, add water and taco seasoning.

Then add the corn and black beans, and bring the mixture to a boil. Allow it to continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates. Once the liquid is gone, remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Now you can start to make the layers for the pie. Start by buttering the spring form pan (or use cooking spray). Place a flour tortilla at the bottom of the pan.

Now spread 1/4 of the salsa on the tortilla.

Next, add 1/4 of the beef mixture.

And then 1/4 of the grated cheese.

Keep stacking until all ingredients are used up. It will look like this when you are finished stacking.

Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Then let it cool for about ten minutes.

After it has cooled slightly, you can take off the rim of the springform pan and behold your beautiful burrito pie! Serve with the sour cream*.

I hope you like it:)

*you could also add sour cream to each of the layers--tortilla, sour cream, salsa, beef mixture, cheese, etc and bake it.

Parmesan Salmon (or Tilapia)

This recipe also works well with Tilapia. I got this recipe from a cooking blog
(I cannot remember which) and then I adapted it a little.

What you will need:

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove (although I used two because I love garlic!)
1 tsp parsley
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (any bread crumbs will do)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper, to taste
3-4 salmon fillets


Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor (I used a magic bullet and it worked great) combine the garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Then place the mixture in a bowl or on a plate. It will look something like this:


Next, spread the remaining olive oil on both sides of salmon fillets (as you can see, I spilled some!).


Coat both sides with Parmesan/bread crumb mixture. (please ignore the weird looking hand!)


Place each salmon fillet on a piece of tin foil. You can sprinkle a little extra mixture on each piece if you would like. Then, loosely pinch the foil together.


Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or when it flakes easily. This is what it will look like when finished! It is very yummy. Hope you enjoy!

Easy Salmon Recipe

This recipe comes from my friend Julie. It is very simple and very delicious! (sorry I don't have any pictures of this one).

What you will need:
3-4 salmon fillets
1 Tbsp butter
3-4 orange slices (or lemon slices if you prefer)
Any seasonings you would like (I usually put garlic salt and a little paprika)

Place each salmon fillet on a piece of tin foil. Season salmon how you wish. Then, put a pat of butter on each piece of salmon, and top with an orange slice. Fold the tin foil over and loosely pinch closed. Place on cookie sheet, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Tomato Basil Soup

1 t. olive oil
1/2 medium onion (1/2 cup chopped)
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes (either fire-roasted or with basil, garlic and onion)
1 large can (15 oz.) or 2 small cans tomato sauce
1 cup canned chicken broth
1 t. sugar
1 t. dried basil or 8-10 leaves fresh basil
4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
salt and pepper

Zap the onion in a small dish, 30-60 seconds. Saute in the heated oil. Add undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce and the broth. Bring to a boil. Add the basil and the sugar. Cut the cream cheese in 1 inch chunks, add to the soup. Bring back to a simmer and simmer 5 minutes. Use a whisk to incorporate.

Carrots

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into same-size pieces
1 T. olive oil
1 T. syrup

Saute carrots 3-4 minutes, add syrup, salt and pepper. Roast for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

(Note: this came from a website or a blog. I do not remember which. I also do not remember if recipes are copyright, but I do remember that I learned that once. Oh well.)