Spaghetti Pie

This recipe makes 2 pie plates full. It is a really good recipe to make and freeze the secone one or if you are bringing a meal to someone else.

1lb. Spaghetti
2 Eggs
1/2 Stick Butter
1 Tbsp. Parsley
1 qt. ricotta cheese (I usually use half this amount and it comes out great)
1/2 cups Parmasan Cheese
8 oz. Mozzarella Cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce

1. Mix Spaghetti with butter
2. Mix Ricotta, eggs, and parsley; add to spaghetti
3. Put spaghetti in 2 pie plates
4. Sprinkle with Mozzarella
5. Pour spaghetti sauce an top and sprinkle with Parmesan
6. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes, covered, and 10 to 15 minutes uncovered

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

Julia actually gave this to me, but I'll submit it anyway :) It's from allrecipes, and this makes 12 servings, so cut down if you aren't cooking for the neighborhood. Also the ingredients seem like a strange combination, but trust me, these are delicious.


1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.

Veggie Quesadillas

Veggie Quesadillas
1 tbls. butter
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 cup fresh corn kernels (I often use canned)
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 tbls. lemon juice
2 tbls. chopped cilantro
8 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded mozzarella, jack, or cheddar (whatever melts and tastes good; I probably usually use more than just a cup)

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat; add onion, corn, zucchini and garlic, saute for 30 seconds. Add tomato and cook for 4 minutes; stir in lemon juice and cilantro (I usually add a little salt too) and cook about 2-3 minutes more. Turn heat down to low to keep mixture warm while making quesadillas. In a larger skillet, warm one tortilla and top with cheese. Add about 1/2 cup of the veggie mixture and then top with another tortilla (I usually sprinkle more cheese on top of the veggies). Cook 3 minutes on the first side, flip and cook another minute or two. Cut them into quarters to serve and top with salsa, sour cream, and/or avocado.

Polenta Lasagna

If you haven't eaten polenta before, you really should. It's yummy and cheap. This dish takes a little bit of work, but you can also make the polenta part earlier in the day or even the night before. And you don't have to make the sauce--any bottled sauce would be just fine.

4 cups water
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbls. chopped fresh basil

1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz. can Italian style diced tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. oregano
salt & pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

In a medium saucepan bring 3 cups of the water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together the cornmeal, salt, and remaining 1 cup of water. Slowly add to the boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture returns to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should be very thick; a spoon should stand up in the pan by itself. Remove polenta from the heat. Grease an 8-inch square pan and spread one-third of the polenta in the bottom of it. Sprinkle half of the parmesan, mozzarella, and basil over it (you can mix these together in a dish to make it easier). Dollop with one-third of the polenta, then add the rest of the cheese and basil. Top with the remaining polenta in an even layer. Let it stand at room temperature until cool, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350. Uncover and bake the polenta for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Let it stands for about 10 minutes before cutting. Meanwhile, cook the onions and garlic in a small amount of cooking spray or olive oil over medium heat. When they are tender, stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 20 minutes. Stir in the basil and cook for only 1 to 2 minutes.

To serve, cut the polenta into squares and spoon sauce over top.

Nacho Casserole

5 cups slightly crushed tortilla chips
2 cans black beans, drained (or 1 can pinto beans, 1 can black)
1 jar salsa
1 cup sour cream
1 can corn, drained
2 tbls. flour
1 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 3 cups of the tortilla chips in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Mix together the beans, salsa, sour cream, corn, and flour. Spoon over tortilla chips in pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Top with remaining chips and the cheese. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with extra sour cream and/or chopped cilantro for extra flavor.

Cucumber Salad

This is an easy salad that tastes good with any kind of spicy/heavy food like Indian curries or bean dishes. I don't really use a specific recipe, but this makes a decent amount for 3-4 people and is easy to double:

1 cucumber, coarsely chopped
fresh cilantro or parsely, chopped
yogurt or sour cream (whole milk yogurt is best if you happen to have some on hand)
salt and pepper
fresh or dried dill

Mix everything together in a dish; use enough yogurt to make it nice and moist. I make my own yogurt so I usually have some on hand. It also tastes good if you add some chopped tomato, and you can add some onion if you want more flavor.

Curried Garbanzos

Curried Garbanzos (Originally from Meatless Monday, but I've altered it a little)

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbls. oil
1-2 tsp. curry powder
2 15 oz cans garbanzos (chickpeas), one drained and one not
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbls. tomato paste
2 tbls. peanut butter

Saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until soft. Add the curry powder and cook for a minute or two until it gets nice and fragrant. Add the garbanzos (including liquid from one can), lemon, and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes. Take out about half the mixture from the pan and puree it in a blender (or if you have a hand blender, stick it in the pan and blend up part of it--you want some garbanzos left whole, but some puree to make the sauce thick). Keep cooking for another five minutes or so, then add the peanut butter and cook just a few more minutes. Serve with rice. This tastes really good with a carrot salad or a nice cucumber/yogurt salad.

Middle Eastern Rice & Lentils, Greek Salad

Middle Eastern Rice and Lentils

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tbls. olive oil
1 cup brown rice (has to be brown)
1 tbls. tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup lentils
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup slivered almonds or pine nuts, toasted

In a large saucepan, sautee the onion in the oil until it is soft (medium heat). Add the rice and cook and stir for a few minutes until it is toasted. Add the water, tomato paste, cinnamon, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir the salt, raisins, and nuts into the rice. It should still be a little watery, add 1/4 cup water if it's dry. Place in a greased 9x13 pan, cover with foil, and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Trust me, this is a very tasty recipe. I've served it for several different friends and they have all raved. It's kind of sweet, chewy, and crunchy all at the same time. It goes really well with a hearty salad. I like to serve it with this one:

Greek Salad
1/2 head romaine or green leaf lettuce
2-3 tomatoes, quartered
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
6 oz. feta cheese, broken in chunks
Black Kalamata olives (the recipe specifies 16, but I just buy a bunch and throw them in because I like them. You want the really strong olives here)

2 tbls. red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces and mix together with everything else (you don't have to be super exact, and I personally like to use more lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, because it makes a lot of dressing and I don't like my salad to be too "slimy"). Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, and seasonings, then slowly pour the olive oil in while whisking to combine. Immediately add the dressing to the salad and mix well.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

This is one of our favorite meatless meals. It's really easy to double the recipe too. I like to serve it with baked sweet potatoes and a nice green salad.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed & drained
1 c. sour cream
1 c. small curd cottage cheese
1/2 c. Bisquick baking mix
1/4 c. margarine or butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tomato peeled & sliced thin (optional)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 x 8 x 2 inch baking dish and spread broccoli in dish. Beat sour cream, cottage cheese, Bisquick, margarine and eggs with mixer for 1 minute or until mostly smooth. Pour over broccoli. Arrange tomato slices on top; then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake until golden brown and when a knife is inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Serves 6-8.

new category

alrighty, we have several requests for the next category to be VEGETARIAN MEALS.