Kale Stuffed Manicotti
May 20, 2009 - Written by DianaAbout 2 weeks ago, I had Kale Stuffed Manicotti planned for dinner. Then my daughter became ill, and I made up a quick dinner using some of the ingredients because I didn’t have time to finish the manicotti. I finally found time to defrost the fixings and make the meal that I really wanted to prepare that day. The kale and ricotta were mixed together with the food processor, and gave it a vibrant green color, a really bright contrast to the dark red of the sauce I used on top of the manicotti. (Picture does not do it justice.) I think it’s great to let your food inspire you and my garden is something that helps me to become more creative. I take what I have and see what I can do with it.
Ingredients:
Tuna, Chard & Rice Salad
May 18, 2009 - Written by DianaLast night I threw together a salad that we all loved – almost all loved. My son likes salmon better than tuna, but still he ate it and still thought it was good (though it might be better with salmon). I told you about my lovely gadgets that I used to make this delicious meal and now, here’s the recipe to go with it. Chard is growing well in my garden, so probably my recipes will focus on that for now. I’m trying to do semi seasonal cooking.
2 Tuna Steaks (sprinkled with Denny Mike’s)
1 Shallot
1 clove garlic
Olive Oil
Chard – My daughter brought in a big chard bouquet, but we only used half.
6 dried figs – chopped
2 cups cooked rice (I used texmati)
Mustard Vinaigrette
Sauté the shallots and the garlic in the olive oil in a grill pan. Then grill the Tuna on top of that after the shallots and garlic …
Jennie-O Best Ever (Ground Turkey) Meatloaf
May 17, 2009 - Written by DianaI registered to get the Jennie-O coupon and recipe book during the Biggest Loser, so I’ve been looking at their Turkey recipes online. I’ve made Turkey Meatloaf before, and their recipe is very similar to mine. Turkey Meatloaf tastes a little different than meatloaf made with ground beef for the obvious reason but it’s still a delicious meal. You will have less grease in the pan and it is lower in calories and fat, which is a really good thing. Even though you missed out on the coupon, you can still get their recipe book 
here.
Ingredients
Directions:
- …
- 3 yams peeled and cubed
- 2 big handfuls of chard
- Olive Oil
- 2 shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- salt
- pepper
- 1/8 tsp dried ginger
- couple of splashes of Maple Syrup Wine
- 1/2 box farfalle cooked according to directions
- 1 whole chicken breast grilled and diced
- bunch of asparagus
- 1 handful pecans
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 1 big bunch of all different herbs – tarragon, chives, thyme and parsley
- garlic pepper
- salt
- grated parmesan
- 1/2 bag blue corn chips (O Organics )
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 2 packs taco seasoning mix (or your …
Chicken stuffed with Asparagus and Herbed Garlic Chevre
April 20, 2009 - Written by DianaSince it’s National Garlic Day, I wanted to come up with a dinner that had some nice garlic flavor. Originally I was going to make a salad with garlic chicken and asparagus, but while I was at the store other thoughts entered my mind and I went with it. I grilled asparagus on a grill pan first, but maybe it doesn’t really need it. We loved the whole meal and I will definitely do it again when my daughter’s home, she enjoys it when I come up with something delicious.
Ingredients:- 2 large chicken breasts – sliced in half, then pounded flat.
- 16 spears of asparagus
- Herbed Garlic Chevre
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Herbs – basil, parsley
- Salt
- Garlic-Pepper
Dollop the Herbed Garlic Chevre on the flattened chicken …
Lamb Roast with Plum Wine
April 9, 2009 - Written by DianaMy lamb roast has a secret ingredient – and none of you have it, and you can’t get it either. A few years ago my sister in law made some plum wine, but it didn’t come out great. It was too thick and very sweet and not very drinkable, but it was also very plummy. I tried it out on my lamb one year, and it turned out wonderful. I tried it again the next year and the next year. I ran out and bought some japanese plum wine one Easter when we ran out, however although it was very sweet it also very light unlike Pam’s wine. This year I managed to grab another bottle of Plum wine. Pam & Jim won’t be here, they’re taking care of some injured in-laws, and we’ll miss them this year, but they’re needed at home. Pam and Jim – we love you and hope everyone gets well soon. So my quest is to find the perfect plum wine – or if you have a suggestion for another good wine that would be perfect to pour over my lamb roast. Pam’s running out of her plum stock.
This recipe is just a …
Beef Stroganoff – The Boys Newest Accomplishment
April 1, 2009 - Written by Diana
I made a deal earlier this year with my son and his friend. I would be their transportation to and from track practice and Venturers if they cooked dinner in between while I worked. We’ve been working to expand their limited cooking experience and while I’m not standing over them, I am close enough to watch what’s going on and offer suggestions when needed. The other day they made Beef Stroganoff for dinner and it was a huge success. The friend said his mom made it recently and he got to watch, but not cook, so he was thrilled to jump in and make it himself. They said next time they can make it without any help or supervision. Truthfully, I only told them what to do, they did all of the work.Ingredients:
- 11/2 lbs Chuck roast (I actually bought a roast and cut it up into smaller hunks to be used for different meals)
- 2 tbs oil
- 1 onion
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 tbs flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 bag amish flat noodles
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup sour cream
Directions:
Cut the beef up into bite size portions. Slice onions, not diced, but sliced into …
Yams & Chard
May 10, 2009 - Written by DianaI had Yams I wanted to use before they went bad, and Chard out in the garden starting to take over and go to seed. So I put together a dish using both. My lovely daughter took one look and said – “What are we frikken vegans? Where’s the meat?” Sorry guys, this is a meatless meal, but it turned out very delicious. I like maple syrup, but didn’t want it overly sweet, so I used Maple Syrup wine instead. My daughter even admitted it was good, and didn’t bother getting herself a meat sandwich. Lots of great vitamins and nutrition in this meal.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Rinse and …
Ground Lamb, Kale and Noodles
May 4, 2009 - Written by DianaI had big grand plans for tonight’s dinner. I was going to make a big batch of food that we could eat off of for a few nights. Track is taking it’s toll on our dinners, and it’s not pretty. I picked a huge amount of Kale, I cooked up a mixture of ground lamb and sweet italian sausage. I shredded cheese. Then, my daughter’s friend called. They were at another friend’s house, the second friend’s father cooked up some food, and people were getting sick, including my daughter. So we went and picked her up, got her comfortable at home and then had to turn around and drive a half hour away to the first friend’s house where my daughter spent the night in order to pick up her stuff and the car. So much for dinner – I didn’t have time to finish up my preparations and bake dinner. We’d never eat if I went with my original plans. So I took some of the ingredients and threw together a quick meal and put the rest aside to assemble another day. Here’s tonight’s dinner that I served, it turned out to be scrumptious.
…
I keep using Asparagus and Chevre because I like the combination but also because asparagus is in season. I have some asparagus growing in a raised bed, but it’s very little, so I supplement with the store asparagus. Of course, then I keep using the asparagus until it is gone because I don’t want to waste any of it. The only thing I would add is little pear tomatoes, or dried tomatoes for a little more color, but the flavor as it was is very good. Directions: In a pan with a …
My dinner companions are usually my husband and my son, both who appreciate good regular food more than anything else. I can try to impress them with fancy things all I want, but it’s the ground beef casseroles that set their salivary glands into motion. I had a bag of crushed chips that weren’t good for salsa scooping, so I based my dinner on how to use those up. They didn’t come from the store that way, there was a mishap and they were smooshed good, but that doesn’t mean I throw them away. The flavor didn’t leach out – just the calories, right? You can halve this recipe, we needed leftovers for tonight so I made a good amount – probably 6 –8 servings.Here’s my recipe for Ground Beef Taco Casserole. Ingredients:
Farfalle with Chicken and Asparagus
April 27, 2009 - Written by Diana
Ingredients:
Taco Casserole
April 26, 2009 - Written by Diana
