Cheesy Zucchini Rice

This is one of those pinterest recipes that's been floating around. The recipe is originally from Buns In My Oven and I didn't alter it one bit. I thought it was a new and creative way to use zucchini. It's similar to broccoli cheese casserole without any of the "cream of ___" soups. I went into it with mediocre expectations and was impressed with how it turned out! Ross loved it and, had Carson not been sick, I think he would have liked it, too! I'll definitely be making it again soon and I'm wondering how it would turn out with quinoa or brown rice.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium or 2 small zucchini, grated (I used my food processor but a cheese grater would work well, too)
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• splash of milk, as needed

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add the rice and stir to coat. Toast the rice, stirring often, just until it starts to turn golden.
3. Pour in the chicken broth, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cover.
4. Cook, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Remove from the heat and add the butter, grated zucchini, cheddar, and garlic powder. Stir until well incorporated. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
6. Stir again and add salt and pepper to taste and a splash of milk if you'd like to thin out the texture a little bit.

Saucey Sesame Green Beans

These are currently sitting on the kitchen counter and disappearing at an alarming rate. There may or may not be any left by the time Ross gets home. It's a weird combo of ingredients, but trust me....it's way stinkin' good! This recipe and the pictures are directly from Jamie Cooks It Up!

Saucy Sesame Green Beans

Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Recipe adapted from Taste Of Home

1 pound fresh or frozen green beans

1 T olive oil

3 T soy sauce

2 t sesame seeds

2 1/2 t garlic cloves minced

4 T brown sugar

3 T peanut butter

Here are your ingredients....in all their glory.

1. Heat a skillet up over high heat. When it's hot add your olive oil. When the oil is hot add the green beans. Turn it down to medium high and cook until the beans are crisp tender. Should take about 10 minutes. Stir it around every so often so the cook evenly.

2. In a medium sized bowl combine all other ingredients. When the beans are done cooking pour the sauce over the top of the beans. Stir it around to incorporate.

3. Cook just until the sauce is heated through.

4. Serve immediately.

Quinoa, black bean and corn salad

We eat lots of quinoa. Lots and lots. It's just so flexible and full of nutrients! Here's one of my quinoa creations from lately. I also think it would be good with some tomatoes, chives and any other fresh veggies you have lying around.

Salad

• 1 cup quinoa (some of them call for rinsing before eating, so check for that)
  
• 2 cups water
• 1 can cooked black beans, rinsed well
  
• 1 1/2 cups cooked corn (I used frozen)
  
• 1/2 onion, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• olive oil
  
• Pickled jalapeños, finely chopped
  

For dressing (I don't know amounts)

• Lime juice from 1 super juicy lime (or 2 medium juicy limes)
  
• Red wine vinegar
• Olive oil
• Cumin
• Coriander
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Garlic powder
• Cilantro
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Feta cheese crumbles
  

-Put quinoa in salted water and bring to boil. Cook over med-low heat until all water is gone and you can see the little white parts of the quinoa. Also, you can just taste it to make sure it isn't crunchy. It should have a little "bite" to it, but not be hard. It is roughly 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork when done.

While the quinoa is cooking:
-Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add in corn, beans and jalapenos to warm.
-Mix together lime juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil and seasonings. I have a little salad dressing mixer jar and I just shake, shake, shake it up...any jar will do.

-Add the veggies to the quinoa while it is still hot and drizzle with dressing. Mix well without squashing it all. The quinoa will absorb the dressing as it cools. Crumble feta over salad and serve cool or warm.

Ranch Roasted Potatoes

I made these last night and Ross loved them! And wow- so easy!

1 pound small red potatoes
1 pack ranch seasoning mix
olive oil
pepper

wash and trim bad spots off potatoes. cut potatoes into quarters.
they kinda look like like apple slices, don't they?


place in mixing bowl and lightly drizzle with olive oil. toss to coat.
sprinkle with ranch seasoning mix and pepper.


place potatoes on baking tray and bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, flipping half way through. cook until golden brown and crispy! cooking times will vary depending on size of potatoes.

Sweet potato souffle

I was skeptical about making this...I wasn't sure if Ross would be down with sweet potatoes for dinner...He couldn't stop eating it! It's a twist on the traditional carrot souffle and is divine. I think it could be served as a dessert.

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 to 1 cup white sugar (depending on desired sweetness)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 tablespoons powdered sugar


Boil sweet potato cubes until tender. Drain and mash. Stir in melted butter.


Beat eggs until almost fluffy and add vanilla.


Add about 1/3 of the mashed potatoes to the egg mixture and quickly beat, so that the eggs don't cook. Add in remaining potatoes and stir. In a separate bowl, mix together remaining dry ingredients. Add to the potato mixture and beat well. Transfer into 2 quart baking dish.

Generously dust top with powdered sugar. This will make a crust on top, so don't be shy with the topping.


Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Creamy Jalapeno Corn

Ross' coworker gave me this recipe a few days ago. It was divine. I served it with my Chicken Chile EmPIEnadas.

2 cans of corn, drained
2/3 block cream cheese
3 tbsp butter
chopped jarred jalapenos (amount depends on desired spiciness)

Mix together all ingredients. Simmer over med-low heat until cheese and butter have melted and mixture is warmed through. That's it!

Cole Slaw

Ingredients

* 1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix
* Chopped green onions to taste (I used one green onion but next time I'll use more)
* 2/3 cup lite mayo
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 tbsp white sugar
* 1/4 cup white vinegar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
* black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine the coleslaw mix and onion in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together the mayo, vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, celery salt and pepper in a medium bowl; blend thoroughly. Pour dressing mixture over coleslaw mix and toss to coat. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Greek Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients
2 medium cucumbers
3 medium tomatoes
1 crown broccoli
Mozzarella bocconcini balls- amount to taste (small mozzarella balls)
1/2 bottle Kraft Greek Vinaigrette

Directions
Wash and chop veggies into bite sizes pieces. Place chopped veggies and bocconcini into bowl. Pour 1/2 bottle of Kraft Greek Vinaigrette over veggies and cheese. Mix and chill until ready to serve, at least 30 minutes so that veggies marinate. This will last several days in the fridge and, in my opinion, get better with time.

Serving suggestions: I serve this as either a side dish or over a bed of lettuce topped with grilled chicken.

my thanksgiving classics #2

vegetable casserole that even the men will eat

this is another recipe that we always have on thanksgiving. don't let the name "vegetable casserole" fool you; there is nothing healthy about it at all :)

ingredients
1 can french cut green beans (drained)
1 can cream of celery (low fat or regular--your choice)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 can shoepeg corn- drained(or regular corn if you can't find shoepeg)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup sour cream (low fat or regular--your choice)

topping
one sleeve ritz crackers
one stick butter- melted

directions
mix first 6 ingredients and put in greased 9x13 pan. crush up ritz crackers. i usually use a ziploc bag and let ross crush them....it's his favorite part. then you just stir together the melted butter with the cracker crumbles and top the casserole. bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

my thanksgiving classics #1

sweet potato mush
i know; it's not the best name, but it's what we called it growing up.
this is THE BEST sweet potato casserole (yaya's recipe, of course). my mom always eats it for dessert and it just isn't thanksgiving without it.

ingredients:
3 cups sweet potato from a can
1 cup sugar
½ cup melted butter
½ cup milk
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon

topping
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped nuts
½ softened butter (do not melt)
½ cup plain flour

directions
mix all "mush" ingredients. pour into greased 9x13 pan. mix all topping ingredients with a fork. it will create a very moiste crumble. spread/crumble/sprinkle topping all over top of casserole with your fingers. bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe made Ross literally do a dance in the kitchen...he then called it the "Hubby Approved Dance." I need to keep track of this recipe!


**WARNING- This is not one of the lighter meals on my blog, but it sure is yummy***

Ingredients:
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 slices Swiss cheese
3 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules or a bouillon cube
1 tablespoon cornstarch or flour (for thickening the sauce)
1 cup heavy whipping cream **yikes**
toothpicks

Directions:
1- butterfly your chicken breast and place slices of ham and swiss in the middle. fold over the top flap of the chicken breast and secure with toothpicks.
2- mix together flour and paprika. coat chicken in mixture.
3- melt butter in pan and let it get nice and hot...like, bubbley, golden brown hot...place your chicken in pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
4- while the chicken is cooking, mix up your chicken broth and bouillon granules. turn chicken to low heat and sloooowly pour broth into pan. cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is done.
5- remove chicken and pour cream into pan. whisk in cornstarch and stir until thickened.
6- pour a good amount of the sauce over the chicen when you are ready to serve.
**this recipe is from the amazing site, www.kevinandamanda.com**

Bacon wrapped asparagus

i kinda made this up as i went along and it turned out pretty dang good! i made mine with ham (b/c i do not like bacon one tiny bit) and ross' with bacon. yum, yum!

blanch your asparagus...only like 2 minutes max....remove from water and sprinkle with salt and pepper. tightly wrap a few in bacon to make a little pack. cook in skillet, turning as each side of bacon gets cooked.

Yaya's FAMOUS green beans

Ok- This is a dish that is served at every Fotiades family function. Ross asks for them ALL the time.

Canned cut green beans: well drained (be sure that they are NOT french cut)
-I usually use the huge can and once you taste it, you will see why
Olive oil
Minced garlic
Cavendar's Greek seasoning

Make a few circles of olive oil around the pan. Heat up and add a few teaspoons of minced garlic. Sautee until it starts to brown. Add drained green beans. Season with lots of Cavendar's Green seasoning. Stir and cook until they shrink down and get small. I like to cook them for about 20 minutes. Add as much seasoning as you want and ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!