Cheesy Pasta

Everyone ate this and it had vegetables in it! That never happens!

Cook one pound of whole wheat pasta. Add one pound of finely diced frozen (but thaw them) vegetables. Add 1/2 pound of Velveeta, one cup of milk, and a little Chipotle Tabasco.

Sweet Potato Burritos

Very unusual but good.

Microwave 5 sweet potatoes (puncture with a fork first) for 15 minutes, slice in half, let cool, and then scoop the pulp into a bowl.

Meanwhile, saute a diced onion and 2 t garlic until carmelized. Add 2 cans of drained kidney beans, 2 T chili powder, 2t mustard, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and 2T soy sauce. Heat through.

Put a little of the sweet potato, the beans, and a bit of cheddar cheese in a tortilla. Roll and put in a greased pan. Then spray Pam on top of the burritos and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Gado Gado

I loved this! It made a fabulous dinner salad. The recipe is adapted slightly from Cate's World Kitchen Blog.

In the rice cooker:
2 cups brown rice
3 1/2 cups water
1 tsp turmeric

Layered in a bowl:
6-8 cups washed, roughly chopped spinach
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
3 carrots, shredded
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced:

For the dressing:
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/3 cup warm water

Fried to go on top:
2 tbsp oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced and separated into rings

Veggie Pizza

This is what I did:

(1) Made pizza crust (whole wheat) in the bread machine and then grilled it on the indoor grill.

(2) Spread it with flavored cream cheese.

(3) Topped it with finely-diced mixed frozen vegetables and a sprinkle of feta cheese.

Yum!

Mexican Lasagna

This is really good.

1. Make one pound of rotini. (I used whole wheat.)
2. Add one can of chili, one can of Mexican tomatoes, and one cup of corn to the pan.
3. Top with a little shredded cheddar cheese.

No-bake Cookies

I liked these. If you have never had no-bake cookies before, you should know that they taste more like fudge than like cookies. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.


Ingredients

* 2 cups white sugar
* 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 pinch salt
* 3 cups quick cooking oats
* 1/2 cup peanut butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* a handful of pecan pieces



Directions

1. In a saucepan bring sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and salt to a rapid boil for 1 minute.
2. Add quick cooking oats, peanut butter, pecans, and vanilla; mix well.
3. Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, and let cool.

Smoothies

I never make smoothies anymore but the boys make them all the time. I know there are a million smoothie recipes, but I thought I'd list mine since it makes good use of yogurt on sale and powdered milk (which adds amazing thickness to it).

In a blender, combine:

1-2 bananas
1-2 containers of yogurt that have been frozen (we buy it on sale and freeze it)
1/2 cup of powdered milk
about 1 cup of milk
optional: berries of any kind