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Recipe 1: Italian Bean & Pasta Soup
Modified from Woman’s Day November 2010
NOTES:
• Super easy soup and very flavorful! Kids like it because of the small bowtie pasta and beans. Double this recipe to have lunch leftovers for several days.
• A great no-meat entrée!
INGREDIENTS
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Approx. 2 tbsp minced garlic (seems like a lot but it’s where the flavor comes from!)
• 8 c. chicken broth
• 1 ½ c. dry farfallini (small bowtie pasta)
• 2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced Italian-style tomatoes
• ½ c. chopped fresh parsley (makes the soup flavorful and pretty, don’t skip it)
• ¼ c. grated Parmesan
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté over low heat 5 minutes or until light golden. Add garlic and cook, stirring for about 30 seconds.
2. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook 5 minutes at a light boil.
3. Stir in beans and tomatoes. Cook 4 minutes or until pasta is tender. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in parsley, *cheese, and remaining 2 tsp oil.
*NOTE: I did not put all of the cheese in the soup as I knew we’d have leftovers so I shredded the Parmesan and stored in a separate container and then topped individual bowls as we ate it.
Recipe 2: Spinach & Sausage Egg Bake
Modified from Taste of Home March/April 2010
Taste of Home Photo
NOTES:
• This was really tasty and made a big pan (13x9). It makes great lunch leftovers the next day so keep recipe as is or ½ it in a square baking dish if desired.
• This recipes comes together quickly but for make-ahead convenience, pre-shred cheese (if not buying pre-shredded kind), chop onion, and measure out & mix spices (store in an airtight container).
INGREDIENTS
• ½ lb ground sausage
• 1 small bag fresh baby spinach (amount is not important, use as much or little as you like)
• 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• ¼ c. finely chopped onion
• ¼ c. finely chopped sweet red pepper
• 1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 10 eggs
• ¾ c. milk
• 1 ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Spoon into a greased 13- x 9-in. baking dish. Cook spinach in same saucepan (after draining excess oil) until wilted.
2. Layer with spinach, bacon, onion, red pepper and cheeses.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and seasonings and then poor over veggies and cheeses. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
Recipe 3: Mushroom-Blue Cheese Tenderloin
Modified from Taste of Home Dec/Jan 2010
Taste of Home photo
NOTES:
• The original recipe calls for a 3 ½ - 4 lb tenderloin which feeds a crowd. For our family, I bought a small .54 lb beef tenderloin and that was sufficient. If your family really likes meat, I would suggest .25-.5 lbs per adult. Be sure to double to double the recipe if making a beef tenderloin over 1 lb.
• This sauce was really tasty and would go good over almost any cut of beef.
• The beef marinates for 2 hours. We made this on a Sunday for lunch so it worked out fine but if doing it on a week night, you could totally skip the marinating. A tenderloin is such a good cut it really doesn’t need much more than salt and pepper for seasoning.
INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 c. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 beef tenderloin, ½-1 lb, see Note above for info on size
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Coarsely ground black pepper
SAUCE:
• ¼ c. butter
• ¼ lb sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ c. (2 oz) crumbled blue cheese
• 1 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Pinch of caraway seeds (don’t buy them if you don’t have them)
• 2 green onions, chopped
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add beef, seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours, turning occasionally. (See NOTE above if making this on a week night and don’t have time to marinate.)
2. There are two ways to cook this:
- Preheat broiler in your oven to around 450 degrees (if you have the option of adjusting the temperature). Drain and discard marinade. Rub the beef with minced garlic and freshly ground pepper and place 2-3 inches under broiler for 13-18 minutes, turning once halfway through (145 is medium-rare, 160 is medium and 170 is well-done). We cooked ours this way. Let stand 5 minutes before thinly slicing.
- Do the same first part as above (with garlic and pepper) but preheat your oven to 425. Place tenderloin in a roasting pan or casserole dish and add about 1-2 c. of beef broth to pan. Bake uncovered for about 30-60 minutes (depending on size of tenderloin). See temps in a) to know when it’s done. Let stand 5 minutes before thinly slicing.
Recipe 4: Quick Thai Chicken & Veggie Stir-Fry
NOTES:
• Using the frozen stir-fry blend veggies really made this meal a snap to put together. The night before I made it, I mixed the sauce ingredients together in container and stored in the fridge until ready to prep. The morning before I made it, I set the veggies in a strainer in the fridge to thaw and pre-sliced the chicken. Came together in about 10 minutes that night!
• I doubled the original recipe because it didn’t make much for second helpings and none for leftovers.
• If you’ve never made a peanut-based sauce before, TRY THIS. You will like it!
INGREDIENTS
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 pkgs frozen stir-fry vegetable blend, thawed (feel free to use fresh veggies if you’d like!)
• Hot cooked rice (1 c. dry per person people will leave enough for leftovers)
Mix in a bowl for the sauce (store in fridge if pre-making it):
• ½ c. unsweetened apple juice
• ½ c. soy sauce
• 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• ¼ - ½ tsp cayenne pepper (depending if you want a little kick to it)
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken in oil for 4-6 minutes or until no longer pink.
2. Stir in thawed veggies and cook, uncovered for 4-6 minutes or until veggies are tender.
3. Stir sauce into chicken mixture and heat through. Serve over rice.
RECIPE 5: Mexican Tortilla Lasagna
Modified from Woman’s Day October 2010
Photo by Kate Sears, Woman's Day
NOTES
• Double the recipe and make 2 and freeze one!
• How to reheat/cook the frozen casserole: place in fridge to thaw overnight, cover with foil and bake 50 minutes then 10 minutes uncovered at 350. OR set frozen lasagna, covered, in oven the morning you want to bake it and set your oven’s timer to have it ready when you walk in the door!
INGREDIENTS
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large poblano pepper (they have a dark green color and are slightly larger than Anaheims. You should be able to find them at any grocery store).
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies OR 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic
• 1 small can corn kernels, drained (or use about a cup of frozen corn)
• 1 small can mild enchilada sauce
• ½ c. chopped fresh cilantro
• Large burrito-size (8 to 9-inches) tortillas (about 4)
• 4 oz cheddar cheese (or Mexican blend)
• 1 small package corn chips or tortilla chips, broken into small pieces
• Chopped lettuce, sour cream, chopped fresh tomato, salsa, avocado, etc. for serving
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat an round or square casserole dish (about 1 ½-2 qt) with cooking spray.
2. Put beef and peppers in a large pot or skillet and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up chunks of meat with a wooden spoon, about 9 minutes or until beef is browned and peppers are crisp-tender.
3. Stir in chili powder and cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, corn and enchilada sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
4. Line greased baking dish with 1 tortilla (it’s ok if it comes up on sides). Top with about a cup or so of meat mixture and ¼ c. cheese. Repeat layers 3 times.
5. Cover lasagna and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with broken chips. Bake 5-10 minutes more until chips are lightly browned. Serve with desired accompaniments.
SHOPPING LIST:
NOTES:
• The shopping list is organized by category and then within each category by meal. After each item you’ll see a number in parenthesis which corresponds to the meal number. That way you can easily pick which recipes you want to try and then find those items (or cross items out) on the list.
• Under Veggies/Fruit I have italicized anything that is a veggie or fruit but NOT found in the fresh fruits and veggie area of the supermarket.
Meat/Fish
• Ground sausage – ½ lb (2)
• Bacon – 4 slices (2)
• 1 beef tenderloin (see Note in Recipe 3 for info on how big of a tenderloin you need) (3)
• Boneless chicken breasts – 1 lb (4)
• Ground beef – 1 lb (5)
Veggies/Fruit
• Onions – 1 medium, chopped (1), ¼ c. chopped (2)
• Garlic – 2 tbsp minced (1), 2 cloves, minced (3)
• Tomatoes – 1 14.5-oz can diced Italian style (1), 1 15-oz can diced with green chilies OR 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic (5)
• Fresh parsley – ½ c. chopped (do not omit!) (1)
• Fresh baby spinach – 1 small bag (amt not important, use as much as you want) (2)
• Sweet red pepper – ¼ c. chopped (2)
• Mushrooms – ¼ lb sliced (3)
• Green onions – 2 chopped (3), 1 chopped, for topping (optional) (4)
• Frozen stir-fry blend veggies – 2 pkgs (4) (or use a mix of fresh veggie if you want)
• Fresh ginger – 1 tbsp grated (4)
• Poblano pepper – 1 large (5) (they have a dark green color and are slightly larger than Anaheim. You should be able to find them at any grocery store)
• Corn – 1 small can or about 1 c. frozen (5)
• Fresh cilantro – ½ c. chopped
• Toppings of choice – lettuce, chopped fresh tomato, avocado, salsa, etc. (5)
Breads & starches
• 1 ½ dry farfallini (small bowtie) (1)
• Rice (jasmine is my favorite kind) – 1 c. per person (if you want some leftovers) (4)
• About 4 large (8 – 9-inch) burrito-size tortillas (5)
Spices/Sauces/Vinegars/Oils/Condiments
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• Chili powder – 1 ½ tsp (2) 2 tbsp (5)
• Garlic powder – 1 tsp (2), 3 tsp (4)
• Soy sauce – ½ c. (3), ½ c. (4)
• Worcestershire sauce – ¼ c. + 1 ½ tsp (3)
• Caraway seeds – pinch (3) (don’t buy them if you don’t have them – optional) (3)
• Cayenne pepper – ¼-1/2 tsp (4)
• Enchilada sauce – 1 small can (5)
Dairy
• Parmesan cheese – ¼ c. grated (1)
• Milk – ¾ c. (2)
• Cheddar cheese – 1 c. (2), 4 oz cheddar or Mexican blend (5)
• Blue cheese – ½ c. (2 oz) crumbled (3)
• Butter – ¼ c. butter (3)
Other
• Cannellini beans (white kidney beans) – 2 15-oz cans (1)
• Chicken broth – 8 c. (1)
• Eggs – 10 (2)
• Brown sugar – 3 tsp (4)
• 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter (4)
• Unsweetened apple juice – ½ c. (4)
• 1 small pkg (or several large handfuls) corn chips or tortilla chips, broken into pieces (5)
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