Cheesy Baked Ziti

I have been in the process of adjusting to living gluten free for the past few weeks for health reasons. As a result of this dietary change, I have been missing things like pasta, bread, and baked goods. One of the first things I tested out was making baked ziti using corn pasta. That worked very well and it tasted almost exactly like regular pasta and the texture was good. While the majority of my starches now I eat brown rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes now, I do eat gluten free swaps like corn pasta about once a week to fulfill my pasta cravings. As many in my life know, I am a big fan of Italian food and I spent many of my childhood years in an Italian neighborhood. For me, Italian food is one of the things I consider to be special and many dishes like the one I am going to share with you today brings me back memories. This is also one of my husband's favorite meals that I make. Here is the recipe:

Cheesy Baked Ziti -  Serves 8

Ingredients:

* 1 box of any ziti or penne pasta of your choice
* 1 jar of pasta sauce
* 1 8oz bag or 2 cups of shredded mozzarella (I used reduced fat mozzarella)
* 1/2 of a 15 oz container of part skim ricotta cheese
* 1 TBSP of Parmesan Romano Cheese (The kind from the pasta aisle is fine)
* 1 TBSP of basil
* Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Cook pasta to al dente according to instructions on the box in a large pot of water.
3. Heat and mix pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, 1/2 TBSP of Parmesan Romano Cheese, and 1/2 TBSP of basil together in a large saucepan over low heat.
4. Once the pasta is done cooking, strain pasta and mix pasta into the sauce in the large saucepan.
5. Turn off the stove and add 1 cup of shredded mozzarella in with the pasta mixture and stir until pasta is coated with sauce and cheese.
6. Spray 13 x 9 with cooking spray and dump pasta into the pan. Make sure the pasta is an even layer in the pan.
7. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of shredded mozzarella, 1/2 TBSP of Parmesan Romano Cheese, and 1/2 TBSP of basil on top of the pasta.
8. Bake the ziti in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
9. Remove from the oven, leave ziti to cook for 5 minutes, and serve with a spatula. Enjoy!

Deviled Egg Salad

I really enjoy eggs, they are one of my favorite breakfast foods that I eat on the weekends and some weekdays. Nothing like over easy eggs or a omelet served with hashbrowns, maybe some breakfast meat like bacon or turkey sausage, and wheat toast for a big breakfast. On the go I also enjoy a good breakfast sandwich either homemade or from somewhere good.

I also enjoy this egg salad recipe I made up and am going to share with you all. I have been making my own egg salad using dijon or spicy mustard for years in place of the mayonaise since I do not like mayonaise at all. To me it tastes good and I even had my mom try some that I made once and she enjoyed it as well. I considered that a compliment since she likes mayonaise. This is a variation of my normal egg salad I came up with recently that incorporates black pepper and paprika like you see in deviled eggs. Came out great and similar to eating deviled eggs.  Here is the recipe:

Deviled Egg Salad - Serves 4 smaller portions or 2 large portions

Ingredients:

* 4 eggs, hard boiled
* 1 TBSP of dijon mustard
* 1/8 tsp of paprika
* 1/8 tsp of black pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium sized bowl, mash eggs with a fork.
2. Add mustard, paprika, and black pepper.
3. Throughly Mix eggs, mustard and spices together until everything is mixed together.
4. Serve as a sandwich using your favorite bread, in a wrap, stuffed into pita bread, or on a bed of lettuce. and enjoy.

Buffalo Style Grilled Chicken

One of my husband's favorite appetizers when we go out to eat is buffalo wings. While buffalo wings are usually greasy and unhealthy, this chicken is not. I made a homemade marinade that is similar to the one usually used on buffalo wings, except I tweaked it a bit to have less butter and still have a good balanced, hot wing flavor. I also switched out the wings for boneless, skinless chicken.This recipe will give you a mild to medium spicy buffalo chicken, which is what I prefer and most people I know like. If you use the optional cayenne pepper on the chicken, it will be on the hot side, but not "suicide" hot. Here is the recipe:

Buffalo Style Grilled Chicken - Serves 4

Ingredients:

* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
* 1 cup of hot sauce
* 2 TBSP of butter or margarine, melted
* 1 TBSP of white vinegar
* 1/4 tsp black pepper
* 1/4 tsp garlic powder
* Cooking Spray
* a few sprinkles of cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix hot sauce, melted butter, vinegar, black pepper, and garlic powder together to make your buffalo sauce marinade.
2. Put chicken in a large container or bowl and pour marinade over the chicken.

3. Cover chicken and marinade chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

4. Spray the pan with cooking spray and put chicken in a large pan over low to medium heat. Lightly sprinkle chicken with cayenne pepper if you want your buffalo chicken on the spicier side.

5. Cook 7-8 minutes and then flip each piece of chicken.  Lightly sprinkle chicken again with cayenne pepper if you want your buffalo chicken to be hot and spicy.

6. Cook another 7-8 minutes or until juices run clear.

7. Serve on its own with your favorite side dishes, with ranch or blue cheese dressing on side, or on a bun with ranch or blue cheese dressing as a sandwich.

Meatloaf Burger Patties

Think about a burger and then think about meatloaf. This recipe brings the two together and makes meatloaf something you can make for a quick weeknight dinner. I kept it burger consistency while added meatloaf components to make this have the "meatloaf" taste. Also becomes the perfect shape for meatloaf sandwiches.

Meatloaf Burger Patties - Serves 4

Ingredients:

* 1lb of lean ground meat (can use any kind you like, but I used 93% lean ground beef)
* 1 TBSP of worchester sauce (if you are allergic to fish and/or seafood like my husband you can use Annies organic worchester sauce, its vegan)
* 1/4 tsp black pepper
* 1/4 tsp sea salt
* 1/4 tsp garlic powder
* 1/4 tsp onion powder
* Cooking spray or oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Defrost ground meat before starting your recipe.
2. Mix worchester sauce in with ground meat in a mixing bowl.
3. Add remaining ingredients to ground meat and throughly mix everything together.
4. Form meat into 4 burger patties.
5. Cook in a large pan or skillet on medium-high heat for about 12-15 minutes, flipping patties halfway through. They will be ready when they are lightly browned and the juices run brown and clearish. (If using ground turkey or extra lean meats, lightly coat the pan with oil or cooking spray, not needed for lean beef though).
6. Serve on a bun or 2 slices of bread with ketchup or on your plate as you would traditional meatloaf. I ate mine with a baked sweet potato and veggies as you can see below:

 

Enjoy and feel free to grill or oven bake these if you choose, I bet they would also be great cooked using these methods. Let me know if you try this recipe.

Thanksgiving Stuffing Bake

With Thanksgiving coming very soon, stuffing is one of the things I have been wanting lately. Here is a one-dish meal that is easy to put together and enjoy for dinner or double the recipe and take it to a potluck:

Thanksgiving Stuffing Bake - Serves 4

Ingredients:


* 3 chicken breasts of thighs (I used chicken thighs)
* Cooking Spray (I used canola oil cooking spray)
* 1 box of stuffing mix (I used a box of whole wheat chicken stove top).
* 1 1/3 cups of water
* 1 TBSP of butter or margarine (I used unsalted butter)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Boil 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 TBSP of butter in a medium saucepan.
3. Add stuffing mix and stir.
4. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
5. Spray 8x8 square pan with cooking spray.
6. Add chicken to the bottom of the pan in a relatively even layer.
7. Add stuffing on top of chicken, making sure the layer is even.
8. Place pan in oven for 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
9. Slice and serve with your favorite gravy and veggies, enjoy!

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal Bars

The inspiration for this came from making baked oatmeal for the first time from this recipe using pumpkin puree in place of the applesauce:

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/09/cinnamon-roll-baked-oatmeal/

Was so good, that I knew I had to make more baked oatmeal for the upcoming week. I often make weekday breakfasts for at least the first 2-3 days of the week on Sundays as well as some lunches. Gets me set to start the week on the right foot, especially since I am not much of a morning person and have a very busy schedule between work, school, and other activities throughout the week. I also had a few bananas that were very spotty and needed to be used. Hence the inspiration for a banana bread baked oatmeal. Here is the recipe:

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal Bars - Makes 12 medium sized bars

Ingredients:

* 3 very ripe medium sized bananas, mashed or pureed (a fork, immersion blender, or food processor will work)
* 2 large eggs
* 1 cup of milk (any kind of milk that you like should work)
* 3 cups of old fashioned rolled oats (do not use instant or steel cut oats)
* 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar, not packed (may need more sugar if bananas are not as ripe)
* 1/4 tsp of salt
* 1 tsp of baking powder
* 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
* 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
* Cooking spray (I used canola oil cooking spray)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients together (oatmeal, cinnamon, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt).
3. In a smaller bowl mix eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed banana together.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients together and mix well.

5. Spray 13 X 9 inch pan with cooking spray
6. Pour mixture into the pan and place the pan in the oven.
7. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown.

8. Let oatmeal cool for 5-10 minutes.

9. Slice and serve hot or cold with milk or on its own. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. Makes a great breakfast or healthy dessert. Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Chicken

I came up with this recipe tonight after a long, hard workout today. I have been battling a cold all week and today was the first day that I felt like my normal self. I am dedicating this one to one of my oldest and best friends Susan who loves honey mustard, which I also happen to like a lot. I am not a fan of mayo and have always enjoyed mustard on my sandwiches, especially spicy and honey mustard.

Ingredients:

* 4 chicken breasts, thawed
* 4 TBSP of honey mustard dressing (I used Ken's Lite Honey Mustard)
* 1/8 tsp of black pepper
* Canola oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Put honey mustard, spicy mustard, and black pepper in a small bowl and mix both of them together.

2. Coat chicken with honey mustard mixture one at a time. Make sure the chicken is thoroughly coated. Cover chicken and marinade chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

3. Spray the pan with cooking spray and put chicken in a large pan over low to medium heat.

4. Cook 10-15 minutes or until juices run clear, flipping chicken halfway through.

5. Serve on its own with favorite side dishes or use chicken in a salad, sandwich, or wrap with additional dressing. Enjoy!

Tuna Burgers

This will be the first fish/seafood recipe on this blog. Also the first burger recipe in general. This is a cross between a crab cake and a salmon burger. These can be eaten like a crab cake with aioli or tartar sauce or like a burger using tuna melt fixings like cheese and tomato. I don't cook a lot of seafood or fish at home since my husband is very allergic to all fish and seafood. However, every now and then I make these and a few other seafood/fish dishes when he is not home. I do enjoy seafood and fish, but don't eat either of these more than a few times a month due to my husband's allergies and the fact that most seafood and fish is expensive. These are budget friendly for a fish dish though and are easy to make, enjoy!

Tuna Burgers - Makes 2 large burgers or 4 smaller burgers

Ingredients:

* 5 oz can of tuna in water
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup of italian seasoned bread crumbs
* 1/4 tsp of garlic powder or to taste
* 1/4 tsp of black pepper or to taste
* 1/4 tsp of onion powder or to taste
* Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Open can and drain tuna.
2. Add  tuna and eggs into a medium sized bowl and mix them together.
3. Add bread crumbs, garlic powder, black pepper, and onion powder and mix everything together.
4. Form patties and spray a large pan so they don't stick.
5. Cook burger in pan on medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown.
6. Serve on a bun or on your plate with fixings of your choice.

Leftover burgers can be refrigerated or frozen for later use. Enjoy!

Southwestern Veggie Pizza

I like spicy food and southwestern/Mexican type food is a kind of cuisine I enjoy from time to time. So much flavor and so good! Never had much of this growing up other than Taco Bell and the occasional taco night at home, but as an adult I have tried and now really enjoy items such as enchiladas, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas, rice and beans. guacamole, and much more. This pizza is a quesadilla basically served open face in pizza form topped with lots of veggies. I believe this recipe can also be a springboard for other variations of southwestern pizza using beans, chicken, steak, adding other veggies, etc. This is relatively basic and quick while being low in calories. Here is the recipe:

Southwestern Veggie Pizza - Serves 1


* 1 tortilla of choice
* Canola oil cooking spray
* 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese
* 1/2 tsp of taco seasoning
* 1/2 cup of bell pepper, sliced into strips
* 1/2 cup of Sliced Mushrooms
* 1/4 cup of frozen sweet corn kernels
* 1/4 cup of diced onion
* 4 TBSP of salsa
* 1/8 tsp of black pepper

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Spray tortilla with cooking spray on one side and place tortilla in a round pan or on a cookie sheet with the sprayed side of the tortilla touching the pan.
3. Top tortilla with salsa, cheese, taco seasoning, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and corn.
4. Sprinkle black pepper across the top.
5. Put pan in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the tortilla start to lightly brown. Watch carefully since this can burn if left too long.
6. Remove pan from oven, leave cool for 2-3 minutes and carefully place tortilla on a plate.
7. Slice into fourths or eighths; you will need napkins or a fork. Enjoy! Can be served with sour cream and/or guacamole if you like. I ate mine as is and enjoyed this :)

Spinach Parmesan Orzo

Today was my first time ever cooking with orzo. I have eaten orzo many times at restaurants as a side dish with my meal and at my moms house, but have never made any myself. I bought a box of orzo on sale yesterday for $1.00 and used a 1.00 coupon for the orzo as well as a box on tricolor noodles. Since both boxes were $1.00 each, I paid .50 per box, which is awesome. Especially for name brand pasta. While I normally cook with whole grain pasta, I do use regular pasta every now and then. I believe in moderation and having some of what you enjoy on a regular basis. Enough of the backstory of how this all came to be, here is the recipe:

Spinach Parmesan Orzo (Serves 2-3 for a main course or 4-6 for a side dish)

Ingredients:

*   1 cup of uncooked orzo pasta
*   4 cups of water
*   4 cups of fresh spinach (frozen spinach is too watery for this)
*   A few sprays of Olive oil cooking spray to wilt the spinach
*   1 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*   1/8 tsp of garlic powder
*   1/8 tsp of sea salt
*   1/4 tsp of black pepper (I used cracked black pepper)
*   1 TBSP of Grated Parmesan (I used grated Parmesan Romano from the pasta aisle)

Directions:

1. Boil Orzo in water using a medium sized saucepan for 8 minutes. You want the pasta to be slightly harder than aldente since you will be sauteing the Orzo before serving the dish.



2.  Wilt Spinach while Orzo is cooking in a large pan using a light coating of olive oil cooking spray on medium heat.

3. Once spinach is slightly wilted, put spinach to the side. Make sure to consistently stir the spinach with a spoon or fork so that the spinach cooks evenly.

4. Drain Orzo and add olive oil, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper to the bottom of your large pan the spinach was in. The pan should be on medium heat.

5. Add Orzo and spinach to the oiled and seasoned pan. Add parmesan cheese on top and mix everything together with your spoon or fork.

6. Mix everything together and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the orzo is lightly browned.

7. Serve on a plate with meat/protein source and vegetables (I think chicken or fish would go great with this. Having my leftovers tomorrow for lunch with some cooked and seasoned chicken breast) or in a bowl like I did tonight on its own for a delicious, meatless meal.

This was pretty good by the way and made for a nice, quick dinner that was easy to put together. Looking forward to everyone's comments, please share with us if you try this recipe.