Veggie Casserole

Eggplant, chopped into bite-size pieces
fresh mushrooms, sliced
zucchini, and yellow squash , chopped into bite size pieces
red onions, diced
red peppers, diced
homemade marinara or store bought spaghetti sauce (I use one with chunky tomato, basil, and garlic)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to coat with the sauce. Spread into a casserole dish and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Stuffed Zucchini

I made this the other and it was SO good!!! I'll definitely make this again. Although, I did it a bit differently. I didn't add the sausage, tomato soup, or water. I used Italian diced tomatoes and added a clove of garlic and sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top for the last 5 or 6 minutes. Next time, I'll probably add basil and oregano to the meat mixture.

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchini
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Grease or spray a 13x9 inch baking dish.
2. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds. Chop and reserve about 3/4 of the seeds for the stuffing. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, sausage, chopped onion, bread crumbs, egg and the reserved zucchini seeds. Place the meat mixture equally into all of the zucchini halves; mixture should be piled up over the top. Place the filled zucchini halves into the prepared baking dish.
3. In a bowl, stir together the crushed tomatoes, tomato soup, and water. Spoon the tomato mixture over the filled zucchini, liberally. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked. You may want to place foil or a cookie sheet underneath the baking dish because it tends to bubble over and splash.

Brownie Cups

It's been a while since I posted a recipe! I'm going to try to post them more often again....

I made these brownies a couple of weeks ago and they were really good! I frosted them and thought they tasted even better. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Cool. Add pecans; stir until well-coated. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla. Fold in chocolate mixture.
• Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 325° for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 1-1/2 dozen.

Spinach Lasagna

This is one of my favorite recipes! We all love this lasagna. It's very simple and so yummy!!!

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten

1 container (16 oz.) t Cottage Cheese

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

3 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce, divided

9 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained

HEAT oven to 350°F.

MIX eggs, cottage cheese, spinach, 2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan.

LAYER 1 cup spaghetti sauce, 3 lasagna noodles and half the cottage cheese mixture in 13x9-inch baking dish. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and cheeses.

BAKE 45 min. or until heated through. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

Menu Plan

Here's a look at this weeks menu...

Monday:
Spinach lasagna, salad and homemade French bread

Tuesday:
Breakfast for dinner: French toast (made with leftover French bread), sausage and fruit

Wednesday:
Quesadillas and fresh veggies

Thursday:
Homemade pizza

Friday:
Going out for Isaac's second birthday

Saturday:
Chicken cutlets, mashed sweet potatoes and fruit

Sunday:
Italian beef sandwiches, fries and veggies

Menu Plan

Here's a look at our menu for this week.....

Monday:
Beef Stew and homemade bread

Tuesday:
Pork chops marinated in Italian dressing, some sort of veggie

Wednesday:
Baked penne, garlic bread, veggies

Thursday:
Roast chicken, veggies and dinner rolls

Friday:
Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Sloppy joes on homemade buns, fresh cut up veggies, fruit

Sunday:
Leftovers/sandwiches

Spinach Alfredo Pizza

I made this pizza last night. I didn't like, but both Dante and Caleb did. I didn't like the alfredo part. I don't really like alfredo sauce very much.... the texture kinda grosses me out. I know, I'm weird. I think it would be really good with spaghetti sauce though, so I'm going to try that. Anyway, here's the recipe..... if you like alfredo sauce and spinach, you'll like this pizza.

Ingredients

• 1 package (6-1/2 ounces) pizza crust mix
• 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce
• 4 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Italian cheese blend

Directions

• Prepare pizza dough according to package directions. With floured hands, press dough onto a greased 12-in. pizza pan.
• Spread Alfredo sauce over dough to within 1 in. of edges. Top with spinach, tomatoes and cheese. Bake at 450° for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.