Lisa's Yummy Pasta

I invented this pasta for my lunch breaks when I worked at Fazoli's. It has become one of Daniel's favorite dinners. I freely admit that it tasted better with Fazoli's breadsticks on the side, but is definitely still pretty good and a nice (although less healthy) variation on spaghetti.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. noodles, cooked (any kind you like, but probably not spaghetti or angel hair. I usually use something like bow tie or ziti).

1 jar Alfredo sauce

1 can tomato sauce (15 oz, not a tiny one.)

About 2 frozen chicken breasts, thawed, sliced into strips, and cooked.

Garlic salt or powder to taste

Italian seasoning to taste

Grated mozzarella cheese (How much you use depends on how cheesy you want it, but probably 2-3 cups)

Mix all ingredients together in a 9X13 pan (but only mix in half of the cheese). Sprinkle the other half of the cheese on top. Bake covered at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Coconut Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup light Karo syrup

1 cup cream or half and half

1 tsp. coconut extract

boil sugar and Karo syrup until sugar is disolved

remove from heat and add cream and extract

Top pancakes with syrup, banannas, macadamia nuts, whipping cream, and shreaded coconut.

Easy Cheese Soup

Dissolve 2 chicken bouillon cubes in 3 cups of water

Add 1 Cup (ish, it's a rough estimate)

Onion

Celery

Carrots

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Potatoes

Zucchini (optional)

Simmer 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft but not mushy

Add 2 cans 98% fat free cream of chicken soup (it's less salty than the original and tastes better)

1 pound of Velveeta cheese

Stir until Velveeta melts, then you’re done

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 (14.5 ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 pound chopped cooked chicken breast
1 1/2 cups no yolk egg noodles
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
fresh-ground pepper to taste

Directions
1.In a large pot, sautee chicken breast in olive oil on high heat until browned. Do not cook chicken through. Put chicken in a bowl. Cook onion and celery in pot with olive oil until just tender, 5 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving. Add parsley just before serving.

Chili's Southwestern Egg Rolls

Again, I stole this one from Aubrie's blog. Maybe one day I'll learn to share original recipes. But probably not. They take some time to make, but are TOTALLY worth it. Delicious. I leave out the jalapenos because I'm a wimp. They make a perfect football watching or other party snack, but also a good dinner--they are very filling and super good!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (1 - 1 1/2 lbs), cooked and diced or shredded

2 Tb. vegetable oil

1 medium red bell pepper, minced

1 small or medium onion, minced

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 c. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 c. diced, canned jalapeno peppers

2 Tb. minced fresh parsley (or use 2 teaspoons dried parsley)

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. chili powder (I use 1 tsp regular chili powder and 1 tsp chipotle chili powder)

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

dash smoked paprika

3 c. shredded Monterey Jack (or Colby jack) cheese

20 7-inch flour tortillas (Mission brand tortillas work best)

Directions:

1. Preheat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Add the red pepper and onion to the pan and saute for a couple minutes until tender.

3. Add the chicken, corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, and spices to the pan. Cook for another 4 minutes. Stir well so that the spinach separates and is incorporated into the mixture.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.

5. Wrap the tortillas (10 at a time) in a moist cloth and microwave on high temperature for 1 minute or until hot.

6. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture into the center of a tortilla. Fold in the ends and then roll the tortilla over the mixture. Roll the tortilla very tight. Brush edge of tortilla with a beaten egg and press to seal. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have twenty eggrolls.

7. You can either deep fry the eggrolls or bake them. I prefer to bake them. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray baking sheet, and brush each eggroll with one beaten egg. Bake 10-15 minutes or until crispy. If desired, you can turn the eggrolls halfway through baking time and brush the other side with egg so both sides are extra crispy. To deep fry, preheat 4-6 cups of oil to 375 degrees. Deep fry the eggrolls in the hot oil for 12-15 minutes and remove to paper towels or a rack to drain for about 2 minutes.

Serve with Avocado Ranch dressing for dipping.

Note: I usually chop the onions, pepper, and chicken in a food processor to save time. I just use whatever cheese I happen to have at the time—colby jack is good, but anything works. You might want to cut back on the jalapenos as it can get pretty spicy. For the avocado ranch I just use a ranch dip mix and prepare according to directions and add one or two diced avocados (mash them a little bit when you mix it into the dip). You can halve the batch if you want as this makes a lot. Or you can freeze them (cooked or uncooked), that way you have more on hand without going through the trouble of making them again.

Citrus Salad

DRESSING:
2/3 C. canola oil (or veggie oil)
1/4 C. lime juice
2 Tbls. fresh orange juice
1 tsp. grated lime zest
1 tsp. grated orange zest
2 Tbls. sugar

SALAD:
4-5 C. torn lettuce
1-2 oranges (cut into pieces)
2 avocados (cubed)
2/3 C. candied nuts*
16 oz strawberries (optional)

*NUTS
1/4 C. sugar
2/3 C. chopped walnuts or almonds

heat the sugar and nuts over medium high heat on the stove. stir continually until the sugar melts and coats the nuts. cool.

I cut the dressing in half and it was more than enough.

Honey-Citrus Turkey Breast

Just right for Thanksgiving, a turkey recipe with a hint of orange and honey. And, it is a crazy piece of cake to cook!

1 tbsp. flour

1 orange, peeled

4 to 8 lb. turkey breast, thawed

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. sweet orange marmalade

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. water

2 to 4 tbsp. flour

1/2 to 1 tsp. instant chicken bouillon

1 orange, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shake flour in large size (14 x 20 inch) oven cooking bag. Place bag in 12 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan. Cut orange into 4 slices and place in bag. Place turkey breast on orange slices. Combine honey, marmalade, nutmeg and salt; spoon over turkey breast. Close bag with nylon tie; make 6 half-inch slits in top of bag. Insert meat thermometer through slit in bag into thickest part of turkey breast.

Cook 15 to 17 minutes per pound or until meat thermometer registers 180 to 185 degrees. For gravy, remove turkey from bag. Strain drippings. In saucepan stir water into flour until smooth. (Use 2 tablespoons flour and a teaspoon bouillon for each cup of turkey drippings.) Add chicken bouillon and turkey drippings. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Garnish with orange. Serves 8 to 10.