Fettuccini with Ham & Zucchini

Always a hit!

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 or 3 small zucchini, julienned
1 (or so) cup cooked ham, diced
1 pint heavy cream
2 T butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 package fettuccini pasta

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions on package. In skillet, start with a couple tablespoons of oilive oil. Sautee onion and garlic on medium heat until onion is tender. Be careful to not burn the garlic. Add the zucchini and ham and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Drain pasta and pour back into pot. Add the cream, butter, zucchini mixture to the pasta. heat this through then add the parmesan last. Serve immediately. You can tweak the recipe to stretch it as much as you want, including adding sour cream, etc.




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Classic Spaghetti & Meatballs

 

photo borrowed from here

This recipe is adapted from Pioneer Woman's spaghetti & meatballs. I found the sauce to be delicious and the meatballs were fantastic.  I have made other kinds of meatballs before, but this was the first time that I have made meatballs from scratch to go with spaghetti. Loved it!

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 3/4 pounds Ground Beef
• 3/4 pounds Ground Pork
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3/4 cups Fine Bread Crumbs
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1/4 cup Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 T Milk
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil

 Sauce: 

• 1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced
•  3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 small Can tomato paste
• 36 ounces Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 cup Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
• 2 t. basil
• 2 pounds Spaghetti, Cooked To Al Dente

Preparation Instructions

To make the meatballs, combine meat, garlic, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, and milk in a mixing bowl. Mix together well with hands. Roll into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.
To brown the meatballs, heat olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs 8 at a time, turning to brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel after each batch. Set meatballs aside.
In the same pot, add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes, or until translucent. Pour in  tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, sugar, parsley, basil. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
Add meatballs to pot and stir in gently. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring very gently a couple of times during the simmer.

Serve over cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Zucchini Casserole

This is a great recipe when you have extra zucchini or even when you have leftover rice. It is savory and a complete meal in one pan. Because I have a big family, I adjust the ingredients to my liking in order to have this casserole go even further (more rice, more zucchini, more sauce, etc.)

Ingredients:

1 can cream of mushroom
1 cup cooked rice
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
3 tbs. chopped onion
6 small zucchini (or so), sliced
salt & pepper

Directions:

Brown meat. Add onion and cook together until onion is tender. Add cream of mushroom. Add rice. Mix all of that completely and turn off heat.

Lay zucchini slices on bottom of greased casserole dish. I use a 9x13. Then pour above mixture over zucchini.

Prepare the following sauce in a saucepan over medium heat: 2 T butter, 1 c. milk, 2 T flour, salt & pepper to taste. Prepare to a roux. Finally add 1 c. grated cheese. Pour over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Beef Tips and Noodles

My mom made this often when I was young. It has become a favorite of my husbands and even my kids love it. The best part is the simplicity of it and the meat is so tender.

Ingredients:

1 lb. stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup (or cream of mushroom soup)
1 package dry lipton onion soup mix

Directions:

Mix the ingredients together in a crockpot. Cook on High 4-6 hours or Low 5-7 hours.
Serve over egg noodles.

*Last time I made it, I did not use the tomato soup and instead used two cans of cream of mushroom soup (this is the way my uncle makes it). It was really good!
*I buy bulk already cut up stew meat from Costco, seperate it into baggies and freeze it. It's always nice to have different kinds of meat on hand.

Ham (or Chicken) Fried Rice

Is it 5:00 p.m. and you haven't thought of dinner? Well this is the dish for you. This fried rice was soooo good. And as a meal, it can basically stand on its own. I had some leftover rice and so I made it with that and it was soooo easy!  As soon as I can find the recipe that I adapted this from, I will share the link!
 
Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons Butter, Divided
6 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Chopped
1 cup Frozen Peas And Carrots
½ cups Diced Ham Or Cooked Chicken
3 whole Eggs Beaten
3 cups Cooked Rice, Chilled
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce Or More To Taste

Salt And Pepper, to taste


Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small glass dish in the microwave. Add the minced garlic and lemon juice to the melted butter and stir to combine. Set aside to allow the flavors to mingle.

Chop the onions. Measure out the peas/carrots, ham, rice, and soy sauce. Finally, you should beat the eggs in a small bowl. Doing some of the measuring/prep work before you start cooking is crucial.

In a large, non-stick skillet, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the peas and carrots and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the diced ham or chicken. Cook for 1 minute. Push all of the contents of the skillet to one side to keep them from cooking too much. On the empty side of the skillet, add the beaten eggs. Season with a little salt and pepper and scramble until just set. Integrate the eggs with the veggies and move everything back to the edge of the skillet.

Quickly add the garlic mixture to the pan and use a spatula to break it up. Cook it for about 1 minute or so (longer if you do not want an intense garlic taste). If you are worried about the strong flavor of garlic, you can add the same amount of garlic but add it with the peas and carrots. This will give the garlic ample time to mellow and sweeten by the name everything is cooked.

Add the cold, cooked rice and mix it in with the other ingredients. I made this with leftover rice!!! Add the soy sauce and stir to combine. Stir it every 30 seconds for about 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and/or additional soy sauce, if desired. Stir one last time and transfer everything to a serving bowl.

Stuffed Peppers

My mom made this when I was a kid and I loved it. I just ate the insides as a kid but I've grown up a little and now I eat the insides and the pepper. It is really yummy and simple. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

6 large green peppers

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 16 oz. can tomatoes, cut up (or stewed)

1/2 c. long grain rice

1/2 c. water

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. Worcestershire

1 c. shredded cheese

Directions:

Cut off tops of green peppers; empty seeds. Chop 1/4 c. of tops, set aside. Boil the peppers uncovered in water for 5 minutes. Drain well and sprinkle insides with salt. In skillet cook beef, onion, 1/4 c. peppers. When meat is brown and veggies tender, drain fat. Add undrained tomatoes, uncooked rice, water, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Boil, reduce heat, cover, simmer 15-18 minutes, till rice is tender. Stir in cheese. Stuff peppers with meat mixture. Place 10x6x2 baking dish. Bake covered 350* for 30-35 minutes.

Chicken Pillows

Recipe in next post or by clicking here.

Chicken Pillows

Picture of this recipe found here.
I knew this was one of my husband's favorites but tonight I found out ALL of my kids love it! They were so excited when they saw what I made. And the fun thing about it is without the sauce on it, the kids just picked them up and ate them like a sandwich. We have eaten them as cold sandwiches the next day and they are good. We seem to always eat these with peas.
I have made these in all the variations. I usually do this recipe with the cream of chicken soup and milk as gravy but my favorite variation is with the mushrooms and pimento and sour cream gravy.
Ingredients:
2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
1 8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups cooked and cut up chicken breast (or for super easy, open a can or two of chicken)
Directions:
Mix together the cream cheese and cooked chicken. Unroll the crescents and put a spoonful on each cresent. Roll up and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake 375* for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. (make sure they are golden or they might be doughy in the middle). Or follow the directions on your can of crescents, still making sure they are golden brown.
Options:
*Heat a can of cream of chicken soup with some milk or chicken broth and use as a gravy.
*Dip the pillows in butter and bread crumbs (plain or italian) before baking.
*Mix a small can of mushrooms, a small bottle of pimento and chopped onion (opt.) in with the cream cheese. Roll in bread crumbs, bake until browned then mix one can cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup with 16 oz. sour cream. Heat and serve over crescents.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

Here's another recipe from Pioneer Woman that I decided to try out. I am a sucker for pasta dishes and the lemon & basil idea intrigued me.  I pretty much followed the recipe, although I believe I was a bit short on the basil and I, of course, threw in extra cream. It was fairly quick and easy and ended up being flavorful and different. I especially think this would appeal to people who have a particular affinity for all things lemon. Very fresh-tasting with a bit of a tang. 

For the chicken breasts, I followed PW's advice for the marinade:

Olive oil
Juice of four lemons

Dijon

A tiny bit of honey

A dash of salt

Mine marinaded for about 4 hours. Grill them. Set them aside and keep them warm. (Oh and maybe don't overgrill them and completely dry them out like I did.)

 

Ingredients:

4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced

1 pound Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente

½ sticks Butter

3 whole Lemons, Juiced

¾ cups Heavy Cream

¼ cups Half-and-half

1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)

Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped

Instructions:

Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander.

In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 3 to 4 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and most of basil and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.

Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

This recipe is straight from the classic Lion House Cookbook. My friend brought these to me when I had Henry. They are absolutely delicious and simple to make too. I am thinking they'd make a great New Year's Eve finger food (toothpick food) too!

1 to 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
Few grains pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients; mix well. Form into about 12 balls, each about 2 inches in diameter (I used a medium sized cookie scoop). Place in casserole dish. Cover with sauce*. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 30 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings, 2 large meatballs each.

*Sauce: (I double the sauce so there is extra to pour over rice).

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 cup barbeque sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine ingredients and blend thoroughly. Heat and pour over meatballs.

Spinach & Mushroom Pot Roast

We love having pot roast and mashed potatoes and gravy on Sundays. I got the idea for the spinach & mushroom from The Domestic Art Cookbook (Vol. II).  I normally make a more traditional pot roast but it was nice to try something new. My kids were less than enthused about the spinach in it. But John & I loved it. Next time I wouldn't throw the carrots in, because we like to steam them and candy them with some butter and sugar. I think this pot roast would especially be good for a special occasion because it is more colorful and pretty.

Ingredients:

3 lb. beef roast

1 small onion, sliced

1 packet dry onion soup mix

4-6 cups water (enough so that the roast is 1/2 submerged)

2 cloves minced garlic

2 bay leaves

1 box frozen chopped spinach or

2-3 cups fresh spinach

2-3 cups sliced mushrooms

Directions:

Combine onion, soup mix, garlic, bay leaves, and water, mix. Place roast in crock pot. Cook on high 5-7 hours. (I like to start it the night before on low, especially if it is frozen, and then turn it to high 4 hours before we eat). Add spinach & mushrooms and cook until vegetables are tender (around 1 hour). Mix 1 cup of drippings with 1 packet brown gravy mix (substitute 4 T cornstarch if needed). 

Wonderful with mashed potatoes.

White Chicken Enchiladas

This picture does not do these justice. I absolutely LOVE the flavor of these chicken enchiladas. And I love that it uses corn tortillas. Another trusty recipe, though slightly adapted, from Pioneer Woman. At the end of making this you will have a lot of dirty dishes, but I think you'll find that this dish is a hit with your whole family! The jalapeno & green chiles are so subtle that my kids don't even notice them or pick them out!

Ingredients:

2 1/2-ish cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken

2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken (remember to do this! that broth is awesome)
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
appx. 12 whole Corn Tortillas
1 whole Large Onion, Diced
1-2whole 4 Oz Cans Whole Green Chilies, Diced (PW calls for 4 cans...I can't imagine, but if you REALLY love green chilies, then go for it.)
1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2-3/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
2-½ cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Cilantro, Chopped

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for no longer than 20 seconds, just to soften (don't let them get crispy.) Place tortillas on a large towel or stack of paper towels to drain. Yes, this adds another step but it really isn't that big of a deal.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, half of the green chilies, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside. (I could literally just eat this mixture for dinner. It is so good.)
In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in the rest of the chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other half of the chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. My tortillas seem to fall apart and not look pretty, but it doesn't matter. (In fact, this whole recipe could be assembled in an enchilada casserole fashion-alternating the chicken mixture with cheese and tortillas with the sauce on top.)

Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you’d like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro.
(We served pico de gallo on top. Yum.)

Garden Vegetable Soup With Ground Beef

Ingredients:

1 lb hamburger
1 1/2 quarts water
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. potatoes
1 c. cabbage, shredded
2 crookneck squash, sliced
2 small zucchini, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp salt

Directions:

Brown hamburger. Drain. Cut all vegetables bite size. Put everything together in a big pot. Cook 1-2 hours. Remove bay leaf.

You really can add as much or as little of each vegetable as you prefer, but this is what i mixed up and is shown in the picture. original recipe found here... http://hayleesfood.blogspot.com/2009/04/hamburger-soup.html
This is from my friend that lives across the street. She brought it to me when we had our baby and made it more like what I posted so I followed what she made for us rather than her original recipe because we liked it so much.

Mom's Tomato Soup Spaghetti

My mom makes this spaghetti sauce. It is ALWAYS a hit. It has a great flavor and I love the chunks of mushrooms and olives. I made it different this time than I've ever made it. I added a quart of bottle tomatoes and I chopped up the olives and mushrooms with my food chopper. I usually slice everything so it usually has bigger chunks of everything and is thicker without the bottled tomatoes. It was just as delicious.

Ingredients:

1 lb. sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)

1 pkg. mushrooms

1 can olives

1 large can tomato soup

1 small can tomato soup

garlic

pepper

Directions:

Brown sausage with garlic and pepper. Slice mushrooms and add to the sausage. When cooked together nicely, add tomato soup. Simmer to blend flavors. Slice olives and add at the end. (I add these at the end because I don't like the taste of the olives if they cook for too long).

Penne with Zucchini Pistou & Chicken

Pistou: n. A sauce made of garlic, basil, olive oil, and often Parmesan, used on pasta or in soups and stews.

Pistou is to the French what pesto is to Italians. Yum. How can you go wrong with those ingredients plus a bit of heavy cream? You can't. I adapted a recipe I found here and came up with a delicious & different pasta dish for my family. It was wonderful...plus I got to use some of the zucchini(s) that have been sitting on my counter for far too long. 
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 chicken breasts, sliced
3 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices small zucchini
1 cup packed basil leaves
3/4 cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion (about 1small)
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
8 ounces uncooked penne pasta (I used about 10-12 oz)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender and golden. Remove from pan; cool.

Place 1/3 of cooked zucchini, basil leaves, 1/4 cup cheese and garlic in a food processor (or blender); process until finely chopped. (Keep mixture in processor.)

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sliced chicken until nearly done. Add onion to pan; sauté 10 minutes or until golden. Add remaining cooked zucchini.

Meanwhile, throw some water & salt in a large pot, and bring to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid.
Add reserved liquid to basil mixture; combine until smooth. Add basil mixture to pasta. Everything is now in the pan except the cream & remaining salt, pepper & cheese.) Add cream, remaining salt, and pepper; stir. Top with remaining cheese. Serve.

Stuffed Zucchini

My sister in law made up this recipe and I love it. I haven't made it in a long time and I didn't have the cheese to put on top. Grow yourself a LARGE zucchini (or get one from a neighbor of buy one) and enjoy this great healthy (except for the cheese) meal.

1 LARGE zucchini
Tomatoes
1 jar prego or favorite sauce
1 can corn, drained
1 can chicken or cooked chicken breast
chili powder
onion powder
garlic
salt and pepper
mozzarella and cheddar cheese

In saucepan, mix sauce, can or corn, chicken, the middle of the zucchini that you scrape out, and spices. Let simmer for a while to blend flavors.
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Dig out the seed center and chop it up. Lay each zucchini on a large piece of foil on a cookie cheet. Slice tomatoes and lay in the middle of zucchini. Broil for a few minutes. (sometimes I do this, sometimes I don't).
Put cheese on top of tomato layer then fill the zucchini with the sauce mixture. (Also, put a little of the sauce under the zucchini to soften while it bakes).
Wrap the zucchini up in the foil and bake at 350 for about an hour.
When it is done, the zucchini will be very soft (I like it mushy). Soft enough that the skin is really soft. Top with cheese and put it back in to melt.
Cut into slices and serve.
I have also fried bread cubes in butter and put this on top at the end. It just adds an extra yummy taste.

Yolanda's Famous Chicken

I got this recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  I don't know who Yolanda is, but judging from this recipe...I think I'd like her.  This was absolutely wonderful.  We served it with lemon wedge, as the recipe recommended.  Then we had vegetables and mashed potatoes.  The chicken with a hint of lemon was perfect.  But it would also be delicious with gravy or barbecue sauce.  My family absolutely loved them.  The recipe states that you can use pre-crumbed bread crumbs.  I think this would be quicker and okay, but using the actual bread slices leaves you with some yummy big and small crumbs. 

Directly from the magazine:

The family serves these crispy sautéed chicken breasts with lemon wedges only (no sauce). Because they're so flavorful, a spritz of citrus is all they need. You can easily double the recipe to accommodate a larger group—crisp two breast halves at a time in a skillet (or four at a time in two skillets), then finish cooking the whole batch in the oven.

Ingredients:

2 (1 1/2-ounce) bread slices
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon 2% reduced-fat milk
1 large egg
Cooking spray
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
4 lemon wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.  Tear bread into pieces. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until breadcrumbs measure about 1 3/4 cups.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a second shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a third shallow dish, stirring with a whisk.

Working with 1 breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Dip into egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to coat evenly on both sides. Place chicken on a large plate. Repeat procedure with remaining breast halves, flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumb mixture; refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray; add 2 teaspoons olive oil, swirling to coat. Add 2 breast halves to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and remaining breast halves.

Bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Serve with lemon wedges.  Delicioso!

*By the way...I used this same recipe to bread some tilapia (fish) and it was also very tasty.

Grilled Chicken & Asian Noodle Salad

This recipe is a new fave.  It really belongs to Kristi, who served it to us while we were there visiting last week.  Kristi really knows how to pick amazing recipes.  Cooking just really seems to come naturally to her.  Anyway!  She used this chicken recipe and combined it with this recipe to make a delicious & complete meal with an amazing mix of flavors.  I have made it twice since being home from Oregon.

Chicken

The directions for this versatile grilled chicken are in this previous posting.

Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of rice vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and set aside. 


Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cilantro leaves (chopped)
1/2 cup basil leaves (chopped)
2 green onions (chopped)
1/2 red bell pepper (sliced into thin strips)
1/2 yellow bell pepper (sliced into thin strips)
1 cup carrots (shredded)
1/2 cup of toasted peanuts (optional)
1/2 pound noodles, cooked per instructions

Directions:

Prepare all the vegetables.  I happen to not like large chunks of certain vegetables, so I actually just threw all of the above, minus the noodles, into the food processor and pulsed about 8 times.  The sliced peppers do look prettier though. Cook your noodles according to instructions on package (not a moment over).  I used one box of fettuccini for this. Once the noodles have cooked rinse thorougly with cold water and drain. Once the noodles are completely cool, add the remaining ingredients. Mix the dressing again thoroughly then add to the noodles and vegetables. Stir until well combined and serve with sliced, grilled chicken or as a side to another entree. Serves 6.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb (or less) ground beef (or sausage)

1 quart (28-32 oz canned) tomatoes

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (8 oz) tomato paste

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp parsley

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 1 1/2 tsp crushed, real garlic)

Directions:

Brown meat. Drain grease. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Cook pasta according to package directions. Serve. Yum.

Fried Rice

I found this recipe years ago and enjoy making it every once in a while. It came from the back of a dry Lipton Onion Soup Mix box. It can be served as a side dish or I add chicken or ham to it and it is a complete meal for our family.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. olive oil
4 c. cooked rice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 envelope onion mushroom soup mix (or just onion soup mix)
1/2 c. water
1 T. soy sauce
1 c. frozen peas and carrots, partially thawed
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Directions:

Heat olive oil in 12 inch nonstick skillet over med-high heat and cook rice, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until rice is heated through. Stir in garlic.
Blend soup mix with water and soy sauce. Stir into rice and cook 1 minute. Stir in peas and carrots and cook 2 minutes or until heated through.
Make a well in center of rice and quickly stir in eggs until cooked.
Add cooked chicken or ham or shrimp if desired.
Enjoy.