Pizza Pie

This perfect comfort food recipe comes from Mom and Grandma Snyder. If you have a craving for pizza, this hearty one dish meal will fulfill it! It is a quick meal to make, and I usually have these ingredients already in the house. It goes well with salad and even tastes great as leftovers (I think Matt and I have had this 3 meals in a row once)!

Pizza Pie (taken from Jeanne and Millie Snyder)
1 pkg Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 jar pizza sauce
1-8 oz pkg shredded mozzerella cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 small can of corn, optional

Fit crescent rolls to make pie crust in 9" pie pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (I don't always do this). Brown and drain ground beef. Add pizza sauce (or pasta sauce).

Spread half of mixture in crust. Add corn if desired. Sprinkle with half of the package of mozzerella cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Top with a sprinkle of oregano.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Let set 5 minutes before cutting. Cut like pie.

Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna is one of those staples for almost every family. My mom had always made lasagna from scratch and it was one of my sister, Libbey's, favorite meals so we had it fairly often. I had never really thought about the work that goes into lasagna until I made my first one with Jenn. Lasagna is one labor intensive meal and takes an army to eat.

The problem with lasagna is how in the world can just two people eat a whole pan of lasagna. Solution......LASAGNA ROLLS! Lasagna rolls are great for both making smaller portions of lasagna or substituting them for stuffed shells in a recipe when you don't have the shells on hand. Since I had a large amount of spinach in my freezer I decided to make vegetarian lasagna rolls instead of the traditional meat and cheese variety. I found a recipe on Kraft Foods for Savory Feta-Filled Shells and decided to adapt a recipe from that for my lasagna rolls. With that recipe I ended up have two 9x9 pans of lasagna rolls. We had one pan for dinner than night and lunches the next day and stuck the other pan in the freezer.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

what you need
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 pkg. (4 oz.) feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 C mozzerella
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 pkg. lasagna noodles
1 jar marinara sauce
Make It

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix spinach, ricotta cheese, most of the feta cheese and mozzarella cheese and the garlic powder.


Spread mixture over lasagna noodles, roll up; place in 10x6-inch baking dish.




Top evenly with the sauce and remaining feta cheese and mozzarella.



BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.

The other tip I have is for making homemade garlic bread. Often time I have some leftover buns sitting around that make for great garlic bread. Just spread a thin layer of butter or margarine on the bun, sprinkle with garlic powder, and top with mozzarella or parmesan cheese. Put the buns on a pan and toast in the over until golden brown and cheese is melted.



Here you have the finished product!

Lemon and Rosemary Chicken

I give all of the credit to this post to one of my favorite chefs, Nigella Lawson. Her shows are unique in that they are calming and inspiring . Her poetic voice turns cooking into an art, yet she is incredibly real and creates recipes that make me say, "I could make that!"

One if the first recipes I tried from her cookbook is "Butterflied Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary." It is a classic Nigella recipe. Simple ingredients come together to make an elegant dish, with less than 10 minutes of prep work. I have made this twice now, and am sure it will repeat again in the near future.

Lemon and Rosemary Chicken (adapted from Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson)

6 Chicken Thighs, skin removed (or one butterflied chicken)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (dried works as well)
Juice and shell of 1 lemon
1 onion, cut into wedges
4-5 peeled cloves of garlic
5 tbs. olive oil
Kosher salt and ground pepper

In the morning, or the night before, combine all ingredients in a large zip-lock bag. Keep in the refrigerator, turning every so often to mix the marinade.

Later, preheat the oven to 425 F and place everything from the bag on a baking sheet lined with foil. Cook for about 45 minutes until the chicken is crisp. Arrange on a plate with the onion and garlic bits and any juice from the pan (fresh lemon optional). Enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken Salad

I just made this salad for the second time in a week, and I thought that this was definitely a must to share! I credit this recipe to Matt's mom and family! It is a light and sweet pasta salad with chicken, celery, pineapple, and toasted almonds. It is a perfect one dish meal on a summer day, and with our family, it doesn't last for long!

At first, I wasn't crazy about this salad because of the Miracle Whip, but it has grown on me so much that now I love it. This isn't the salad for those who don't like Mayo or Miracle Whip (like Cat's husband!) but for the rest of us, I recommend giving it a try!

Pineapple Chicken Salad
2-3 cooked and diced chicken breasts (no seasoning necessary, maybe a dash of S&P)
1 cup diced celery
1 can drained pineapple chunks
half a box of cooked shell macaroni

Mix and add to above:
1 cup light Miracle Whip
1 container light Cool Whip

Sprinkle on 1/2 cup slivered almonds (I buy them in bulk and toast them dry in a pan before I cook the chicken).

Refrigerate and enjoy! It is easy to double the recipe if you are making it for a large group.

Homemade Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting

I come from a family of cake lovers. My dad would always get a cake for any occasion that would came up so I grew up eating a lot of cake. Since I have always loved baking, I want to try making more cakes. One cake that I have always liked at restaurants but have never tried making is carrot cake so I figured it was about time I give it a shot.

I once again went to allrecipes.com to find the best carrot cake with cream cheese frosting recipe that I could find and altered it to my taste. It was a big hit and make a good amount. I ended up making 12 cupcakes and a 9x9 cake. I brought the cake over to Jenn and Matt's and we were all able to enjoy it.


Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted from the Carrot Cake III recipe on allrecipes.com)
Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

Banana-Lemon Pudding Cake

Last week, I was flipping through the March Rachel Ray magazine and came upon an article about slow cookers. I have always loved using my slow cooker for main course dishes, but have never made a dessert in one. Thanks to Rachel Ray, this Banana-Lemon Pudding Cake was a great opportunity to make my first crock pot dessert.

I had most of the ingredients already, but I did have to buy a few lemons (which I later used in a chicken recipe - coming soon)! I swapped banana flavored Yoplait yogurt for the plain yogurt and cut the sugar in half with Splenda.

Layering the bananas!

Mixing the batter...

Delicious result!

If I make this again, I would pay more attention to the directions (I didn't cook it long enough)! As a result, the bottom was not fully cooked through, but it still tasted great. The recipe says it serves 6...well for us that was more like 2! I originally thought I would make this for our next small group meeting, but it didn't make enough. I am not sure if you can double this recipe successfully or not (let us know if you try)!

The best part about this cake is the great lemon flavor. The side note in the magazine says that you can swap out other fruit for the bananas. Perhaps I will make this again with berries this summer.

Banana-Lemon Pudding Cake (From Rachel Ray Magazine, March 2010)

• 3 eggs, separated
• One 6-ounce container plain fat-free yogurt
• Grated peel and juice of 1 large lemon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ripe bananas, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
• Whipped cream (optional)

1. Grease the inside of a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker with butter. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. In another large bowl, beat together the egg yolks, yogurt, lemon peel and lemon juice on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar, flour and salt and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Working in 3 or 4 batches, gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

2. Scatter three-quarters of the banana slices on the bottom of the slow cooker, then pour in the batter. Cover and cook on high until the cake is puffed, the top is set and the edges are browned, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove the slow cooker insert, still covered, and cool for about 20 minutes.

3. Spoon the pudding into bowls and top with the whipped cream, if using, and the remaining banana slices.

Teriyaki Salmon and Sesame Broccoli

My husband and I love salmon and have found a thrifty way to make it one of our favorite meals of the week. I buy the family packs on sale and cut and freeze individual portions. If I make them on the small side I can get it down to about $2.00 a serving. Yes, it is a bit more than other proteins, but it is worth the splurge (and is super healthy)!

Of all of the salmon recipes I have tried, this version is my favorite. I also like baking salmon in a veggie packet (see my take on this on The Haphazard Chef) and also with maple syrup.

Sesame broccoli uses the same ingredients so it goes well with the fish. I originally got these recipes from a WeightWatcher's cookbook and adapted them for the ingredients I have in my kitchen.

Teriyaki Salmon

-2 skinless salmon fillets
-1/4 c. soy sauce
-1 tbs. grated ginger (I keep ginger in the freezer so it lasts longer)
-1 tbs. honey
-1 garlic clove, crushed
-1 tsp. sesame oil

Whisk together ingredients and pour into a zip-lock bag. Add the salmon and let marinate (up to 24 hours...I usually do this for as little as 5 minutes).

Remove the salmon from the marinade and transfer remaining marinade to a small bowl. Spray a grill pan with oil and set over medium heat. Add the salmon and cook 5 minutes a side, brushing with remaining marinade. Enjoy!


Sesame Broccoli

-1 head of fresh broccoli, cut into florets
-3 tbs. soy sauce
-2 tsp. sesame oil
-1 tbs. grated ginger
-1 tsp. brown sugar
-1 tbs. sesame seeds

Put broccoli in a saucepan over 1 inch of boiling water. Cover and steam until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.

Whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add dressing to broccoli and toss to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.