Birthday Dinner for the 18 Year Old

Today my oldest son turned 18.

 As we normally do in our house, we let him pick what he wanted for dinner. His choice? Greek food. However, not Greek take-out or going to one of the two local Greek restaurants...he wanted Mom to cook Greek food at home.

I had him sit down with me and we looked up a variety of Greek recipes on Pinterest. Once he found some he was interested in, I got to work on compiling my list of needed ingredients and prepping the kitchen.

Chicken pitas using the crock-pot, (a recipe we use often) with Spanakopita (we used the Betty Crocker recipe linked at Pinterest) and a salad blend that we simply call Greek Salad.


 

Considering it was the first time I have ever attempted Spanakopita - I was very pleased!

The boys did not try any, but my husband - my dad - and I each really enjoyed this spinach dish.

Additionally, the salad was a revamp of other salads we have had before using the ingredients we had on hand.  We have enough for leftovers, so I'm sure it will be even better tomorrow!

Greek Salad:

• 1 can medium pitted ripe olives, drained
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and dry
• 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a serving dish.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour prior to serving.  Mix well prior to serving.  Enjoy!

**HINT:  Don't forget to add the salt and pepper to the spinach for the Spanakopita, or add more cheese and skip the salt entirely.  The Greek Salad would be a FABULOUS appetizer or afternoon snack, just add some crispy Pita chips.**

Pepperoni and Ziti Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 lb uncooked ziti
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 (26.5 oz) can prepared spaghetti sauce
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 (8 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 (9 oz) package frozen, chopped spinach - thawed & drained
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 oz mini-pepperoni

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
2. Brown ground turkey over medium heat until no longer pink - then drain.
3. In a large bowl, combine: browned ground turkey, large can spaghetti sauce, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, chopped spinach, cottage cheese, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Mix well.
4. Fold drained pasta into the turkey mixture.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Prepare 2 baking dishes with cooking spray. (One to bake, one to freeze - if desired.)
7. Fill both baking dishes with ziti-turkey mixture.
8. Combine water with regular tomato sauce. Pour that combination equally over both pasta dishes.
9. Top with remaining shredded mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and mini-pepperoni.
10. Bake the casserole at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes - OR - cover and freeze until ready to use.

Stuffed Shells

As I started pulling out the ingredients to put this together, my husband asked "Are you making dinner already?" I answered no, but in all honesty - yes, yes I was!

I not only have dinner ready to bake for tonight, but I also have a second meal for my freezer. Score!!

Sunday afternoons I am away from home and my fellas need to eat lunch while I'm gone. Freezer meals are a great way to keep the meals a little more interesting than *just* ramen noodles or a PB & J sandwich. Freezer meals are also a great way to be prepared for those days or nights that we need to make life a little easier. One less meal to prepare, right?

With this recipe, the frozen Stuffed Shells can be pulled out of the freezer to thaw and then baked for a hot delicious meal your family will enjoy.



Ingredients:

1 box, uncooked jumbo pasta shells
1 container (24 oz) small curd low-fat cottage cheese
1 (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
3 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend (divided)
1 1/2 cups of half-n-half (divided)
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese (divided)
2 tsp garlic
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 can ( 15 oz) tomato sauce


* Boil pasta shells for 9 minutes in boiling water. Drain thoroughly, and let cool.

* In a small mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, 24 oz container of cottage cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and 3/4 cup of half-n-half. Next add drained spinach, garlic and Italian seasoning to cheese mixture.

* In another mixing bowl, combine spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, 3/4 cup of half-n-half. Divide in half. Reserving 1 cup of the first half of tomato sauce, pour the remainder into the bottom of a prepared freezer safe baking dish.

* Next, use a scoop or large spoon to fill pasta shells with cheese mixture. Once filled, set into tomato sauce mixture in baking dish. When you have filled the needed amount of shells for the first baking dish, cover the shells with the leftover cup of tomato sauce. Top with 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella and additional Parmesan if desired.

**Repeat the last step for the second dish, going into the freezer. I recommend the dish going into the freezer be covered with foil first, then the lid be placed on the freezer safe baking dish.**

Time to bake!

Thawed shells should bake, covered with foil for 40 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow shells to stand for10 minutes prior to serving.

The Stuffed Shells from the freezer should be thawed in the refrigerator and then set out prior to baking to avoid placing a frozen dish into a hot oven.

Chicken-Spinach-Mushroom-Alfredo-Extra Cheese Lasagna

Every once in a while, I hit the Mommy jackpot with a dinner meal. Tonight was one of those nights. I can happily report that my 12 year old who can never, ever, ever, never manage to finish a meal did in fact finish his dinner and asked for seconds. Score!!

The upside is we will get to enjoy this meal again for lunch tomorrow (and probably the two days following), but the downside is...there was enough to feed a small army.

This is comfort food to the 10th power.

Seriously.

And it has spinach.

Seriously.

Ingredients:

2 - 13 oz cans cooked chicken breast, drained

2 jars prepared Alfredo sauce

1 large container, small curd cottage cheese

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 small can of mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1 lb of shredded Mozzarella cheese

shredded Parmesan, Asiago and Romano cheese blend

1/2 package of oven ready, no boil lasagna noodles

Italian seasoning blend - to taste

garlic blend seasoning - to taste

1 - Prepare baking stone or pan with cooking spray

2- Combine 1/2 cup of Alfredo sauce with 1/2 the container of cottage cheese and 1st can of chicken. Spread over bottom of baking dish.

3- Cover chicken-cheese mix with drained spinach and drained mushrooms. (Our mushrooms were only on half - otherwise my 16 year old would never speak to me again)

4- Top vegetables with 1/3 of the shredded Mozzarella cheese and a portion of the Parmesan cheese blend. Sprinkle lightly with Italian seasoning blend and garlic seasoning blend.

5- Next, add the first layer of bake-ready lasagna noodles.

6- Combine remaining cottage cheese, 2nd can of chicken, and 1 jar of Alfredo sauce. Spread over lasagna noodles.

7- Cover with more shredded cheese, (leaving enough to cover noodles a final time.)

8- Add additional seasoning if desired, final layer of noodles, then top with last of the shredded Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese blend. Top with seasoning before baking, if desired. (I definitely added more seasoning.)

9- Cover with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

We served this delicious lasagna with fresh bread and a Bacon-Caesar salad.

And lucky for me, more Chicken-Spinach-Mushroom-Alfredo-Extra Cheese Lasagna for lunch tomorrow!!

That's okay, I do not mind at all!!

Quiche Me Baby!!

I have a love-hate affair with breakfast.

In my mind, breakfast is always best when someone else cooks it.

Having a diabetic teenager in the house means breakfast is not an option - it is a requirement.

I stumbled across a lovely spinach-quiche recipe a couple of weeks ago and after tweaking it a little here and there...I've found a breakfast recipe that even I don't mind to cook.

*Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F.

*Next assemble the ingredients:

1/2 cup butter margarine
1 small can, drained, sliced mushrooms stems & pieces
1/2-1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup diced frozen onion & pepper seasoning blend
6-8 oz baby spinach

4 eggs
1 cup skim milk

3 oz feta cheese
3-4 oz shredded cheese (colby jack for us...)
1 deep dish pie crust

- Begin by melting the butter or margarine in a deep skillet on the stove top.

- Once melted turn the heat down to medium and add mushrooms, onion & pepper blend, and garlic. Saute until well combined and onions are slightly translucent.



- Turn heat down slightly more, and add spinach allowing it to sit on top of the butter mixture briefly before stirring. This allows the spinach time to begin wilting.




- As the spinach begins to wilt, mix eggs and milk together gently in a separate some bowl or in the blender. If you use the blender - do not over blend.

- Stir spinach into butter mixture, and continue stirring slowly until spinach has completely cooked down and mixture begins to thicken slightly.

- Remove skillet from heat.




- Add feta cheese, shredded cheese, and milk-egg blend. Combine carefully.

- Pour contents into the deep dish pie crust and bake for 40 minutes.

- After the first 40 minutes baking, sprinkle additional shredded cheese lightly over the top and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes. HINT: Go lightly on the cheese topping...a little goes a long way.




- Full cooking time should be 55-60 minutes total. Check quiche for doneness by using a fork into the center to see if quiche is fully set or still runny. Cooking longer will set the eggs more.

- Do not under cook.

* Our breakfast was served with a glass of orange juice...without pulp of course! Great way to start the weekend!!