Help Me Name this Dish

I really wanted Baked Ziti but didn't have all the ingredients. I decided to use what I had on hand. Please give it a try and tell me what you think. I don't measure things as I cook but I'm going to give you the best amounts of each ingredients that I can. I doubled this recipe intending to freeze half but it never made it to the freezer. lol My family had seconds and at it the next day for lunch. I doubled it but the measurements below are not doubled, just so that you know. This is what I used but will likely change it again.... Here goes:

Unknown Dish

Penne Pasta or your choice of style of Pasta 1 box
8 oz Mushroom sliced
Large Green Pepper diced
1/2 large onion diced
2 cloved of crushed garlic
2 tbs olive oil
3 cans of Diced Tomatos with Basil
2 cups Fresh Spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parm Cheese
1 cup of Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions: Boil water for the pasta and cook it al dente. While this is waiting to boil start on the other ingredients. Use a wok type pan and heat olive oil, add garlic saute (don't burn it), add diced onions and green peppers, then add mushrooms and stir together. The pasta should be finished, drain and add to the vegetables, add all three cans of tomatoes and fresh spinach. Mix thoroughly, salt and pepper to taste. Add Parm Cheese and 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese, again mix real good. You can top with rest of the cheese and serve or bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Here is a picture of the end product. The lighting isn't so great but I'll get better. Tell me what you think.. It's a photo after the cheese was added and mixed. My family loved this, I'm pretty sure that you could use gluten free pasta and vegan cheese, otherwise the rest of the products are vegan and gluten free.

Join my blog and tell us what we should name it...

Update

Sorry to neglect this blog. I know I have made promises to post recipes. I'm just going to post an update. I will try to keep up. I've been sick so this has not been a priority.

I bought over 35 lbs of Gala Apples that I plan to use for apple sauce, apple butter and canning. I will likely get more in the next few weeks. I got my apples at 2 lbs for $1.00. These weren't organic and hopefully I will feel better to get some next year and pick them ourselves. I will not beat myself up over this, I will not beat myself up over this... there I feel better.

I am excited to make these without sugar. I've found some tips online and I will put them to the test and let you know how it goes. I plan to cook over the weekend.

Chicken Tacos

4 Chicken Breasts or Chicken Tenders equiv in lbs as the breasts or just left over chicken.
1-2 packages of Taco Seasoning or make your own (see recipe below)
2 cups of lettuce
1 tomato
1 cup of cheddar cheese
Oil
Corn Tortillas
Garnish with sour cream and salsa

You can cook the chicken a few different ways. Cut into small chuncks and add 1 tbs of oil in the fry pan so that they don't stick cook until they are no longer pink in the center. The other way you may cook your chicken is to boil the chicken pieces. I boil for to cut down on the fat. It's tender and moist. The nice thing is you get chicken broth for another dish. After you cook the chicken you add it to the fry pan and add your taco seasoning and 3/4 cups of water (directions on the package). I add two packages because my family likes the seasoning and you would use 1 1/2 cups water if you cook using two. Once the water is cooked down you are ready to assemble. While the chicken is cooking you will cook your tortillas. Add the oil to a small fry pan and heat it to Med High heat. You will cook your tortilla folded over to your desired taco shell hard or soft. You can also substitute the corn tortilla and use flour and just heat it in the microwave and use no oil. Garnish your taco with all that you like and you just made Chicken tacos. Yummy....


Taco Seasoning
6 teaspoons chili powder
5 teaspoons paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons onion powder
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Notice there is no salt.... You can add it to your meal but perfect for those who have cut salt out of their diet.

This makes 1/2 cup, store in an air tight container. You will never need to buy it again. It will last in the container for six months if you want to make it ahead.

I have recipe to share today but I'm happy to say that I've lost 25 lbs in the past few months. I firmly believe it is because I've been eating less at each meal time and not from the box when I do. My lack of physical activity makes it even more food related. I can't say enough good things about fresh foods and how important they are for your health and life. I hope to share more wonderful recipes for healthy living. Today is my youngest sons birthday. We plan to make Chicken Tacos and they are super easy. I'll see you later and share how you make them.

Recipes

Chicken Marsala

This is so easy. It's so yummy!! It's like the Olive Garden Recipe with a little addition. lol

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breasts or weight equiv Chicken Tenders (I buy what is on sale)
Approximate 1/2 cup of flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dried Basil and Oregano
4 tbs of Olive Oil
4 tbs of butter
2 to 4 cups of mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of Marsala Wine

Take you chicken and pound it between two pieces of plastic wrap to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickeness. I cut it into large pieces after it's flattened.

In a flat bowl combined flour, salt and pepper and dried oregano and basil. Dip your chicken in the flour mixture with a nice coating and then shake off the excess.

Heat oil and butter in fry pan on medium heat and add chicken. Cook a few minutes on each side until lightly brown. Add sliced mushrooms and pour the marsala wine around the chicken and mushrooms.

Cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Serve with Garlic Sour Cream Potatoes.

Garlic Sour Cream Potatoes

Ingredients

8 med to large Baking potatoes or Boiling Potatoes
1 cup of sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk
Salt and pepper to Taste
Garlic Cloves about 4 to 6 Roasted

I make this for more people so I do everything by sight. These measurements should be pretty close. We like it creamy and the garlic.


Preheat oven to 450 degrees or roast temperature for garlic. Cover the whole thing in foil and drizzle olive oil on the garlic and put in the oven for about 45 minutes. You can remove each piece from the garlic head. It basically becomes a paste and the remainder can be used for later. Yummy!! Garlic Bread for example.


I cut the potaotes in pieces for faster cooking and mixing. Boil your potatoes in large stock pan. Remove when soft. I use the peel but if you don't like it then you may want to peel them prior to boiling them.

You will want to mix them while they are hot. I use my mixer and add my sour cream first with salt and pepper to taste, garlic and then the milk and mix to the desired consistency that we like our potatoes to be and top with the Chicken mixture.

Super yummy!

Menu & Recipes

Hello,
I’ve been quite busy lately and have had no time to post. I really need to learn to balance both better since the very thing I want to share is what I’m doing at home. I know I promised recipes and because I took no pictures of my creations I have used this as a reason not to post them. This is so not fair to you. I will post the recipes despite this minor little flaw.

I haven’t felt well for quite a while so I’m very behind in sharing. I made quite a nice variation.

The meals I’ve made so far are as follows:

Baked Smoked Gouda Ziti

This recipe came from a website online. I didn’t follow it completely.

Ingredients

1 Box of Ziti Pasta
1 red pepper chopped in smaller pieces
1 package of mushrooms
½ large onion or 1 med chopped in smaller pieces
Fresh Basil
6 cups of Fresh Spinach
1 cup of chicken stock or broth
6 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 cans of diced tomato
2 tbs Olive oil
1 ¼ cup of smoked Gouda Cheese (reserve ¼ cup for topping)

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Bring water to a boil for pasta and cook to them according to the package al dente. In a separate pan add olive oil to a hot pan and add garlic to the hot oil, don’t burn the oil or garlic or you will have to start over. Add peppers, onion, mushroom and sautéed them once they are somewhat soft add the tomatoes, spinach and basil and chicken stock and simmer. Once the spinach is cooked down add the gouda cheese but reserved ¼ cup of cheese. Mix this all together in the same pan and add to a baking dish, top with the remaining cheese and you have a delish meal. Bake for about 20-30 minutes. I usually just like it warmed through and cheesey. If you like a little crust then you want it in longer.

You can substitute other vegetables or add more spinach. I would rather use fresh tomatoes but couldn’t at the time I made this. I doubled this recipe and my family loved it. The Gouda Cheese is pricey but I found some at a good price. You could use ½ Gouda and ¼ Mozarella and make a nice medley.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Steak Sandwiches

Ingredients
3 lbs of cube steak
2 tbs. All Season Salt
Worcheshire Sauce
6 to 8 tbs. Butter
½ each red and green pepper sliced in stripes
1 onion sliced in stripes
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
½ cup Mozzarella Cheese

Put two tbs. of butter in a fry pan and once melted add onions, peppers and mushrooms and cook them until carmelized. Remove them from the pan.

When the vegetables are cooking slice the cube steak going with the grain of the meat. Slice them long ways into stripes. Add the seasoning salt on the top of the meat. Using the same pan the vegetables were in add 2 tbs. of butter. Add the meat with the seasoned side down in one layer, add the season salt to the side not seasoned while cooking the seasoned side. Flip the meat when the side is done, don’t stir it. Now that the other side is cooking, once it is done add the worchestshire sauce and a little more butter 2 tbs. is good. I like lots in my meat. Yumm… Add hot sauce of your choice about 4 – 6 drops. Add the vegetables back into the meat and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes stirring to combine all of the ingredients. While you are doing that butter your hoagie rolls and grill them until toasted. Add your mixture and then top with mozzarella cheese. You are ready to serve.

You will have leftovers. I vamped up the recipe from Pioneer Woman.com and added my own variation. I don’t use all the butter simply because it’s high in calories and not necessary, it’s still yummy without all the butter. We don’t like to eat a whole bunch of that. The veges are a nice addition too and if you like steak sandwiches you may like it more. You don’t need to toast or butter the hoagie rolls. You can use more cheese if you need to but you just need a sprinkle of it.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients
2 lbs of Chicken tenders or breasts boneless
1 cup of cheese cheddar shredded
½ med onion chopped
2 Bay leaf
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Thyme
20-24 Corn Tortillas
1 large can of red or green enchilada sauce we love green
Vegetable oil ¼ cup refill as needed

I boil my chicken pieces in water and add bay leaf, salt & pepper, cumin and thyme. I boil for about an hour and remove the chicken from the pot. It falls apart easily and I shred it by hand and set aside. Preheat oven at 375 degrees and use two baking pans. Put about ¼ to ½ cups of vegetable oil in a fry pan and heat on med to high heat. Give each tortilla a bath in the hot oil and set each aside. It softens the tortilla and it is important. I’ve tried it other ways but this is the best. You only leave each tortilla in for a minute and remove. After I am done with the tortillas I begin to roll them. I add a little onion to the chicken on the edge of each tortilla and roll putting them into the baking dish. You can add cheese to some of them if you want a little variety but I don’t measure. Don’t make them too fat or you will run out of chicken. After I roll them and get them into the pans I top them with the green sauce and a little cheese. I bake one and freeze the other prior to cooking. Bake them for about 20-30 minutes and top with sour cream. Yummy! I serve homemade beans and rice with them.


Bean Tostadas
Beef Tacos
Crab Sandwiches
Meatball Sandwiches
Lasagna
Burritos with Beans and Taco Meat
Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Okay so most of these aren’t that big of a deal… I doubled a few so that we have meals for other nights. The Lasagna was made for this coming Monday but I made it when I made the Meatball Sandwiches since I was cooking that kind of meal.

I wish I could say that I can feed a family of 6 on $375 like some other people do but really I’m pretty frugal and still have yet to do that. I guess it may be because I have adult eaters. More recipes to follow when I feel a little better.

Menu & Recipes

Hello,
I’ve been quite busy lately and have had no time to post. I really need to learn to balance both better since the very thing I want to share is what I’m doing at home. I know I promised recipes and because I took no pictures of my creations I have used this as a reason not to post them. This is so not fair to you. I will post the recipes despite this minor little flaw.

I haven’t felt well for quite a while so I’m very behind in sharing. I made quite a nice variation.

The meals I’ve made so far are as follows:

Baked Smoked Gouda Ziti

This recipe came from a website online. I didn’t follow it completely.

Ingredients

1 Box of Ziti Pasta
1 red pepper chopped in smaller pieces
1 package of mushrooms
½ large onion or 1 med chopped in smaller pieces
Fresh Basil
6 cups of Fresh Spinach
1 cup of chicken stock or broth
6 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 cans of diced tomato
2 tbs Olive oil
1 ¼ cup of smoked Gouda Cheese (reserve ¼ cup for topping)

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Bring water to a boil for pasta and cook to them according to the package al dente. In a separate pan add olive oil to a hot pan and add garlic to the hot oil, don’t burn the oil or garlic or you will have to start over. Add peppers, onion, mushroom and sautéed them once they are somewhat soft add the tomatoes, spinach and basil and chicken stock and simmer. Once the spinach is cooked down add the gouda cheese but reserved ¼ cup of cheese. Mix this all together in the same pan and add to a baking dish, top with the remaining cheese and you have a delish meal. Bake for about 20-30 minutes. I usually just like it warmed through and cheesey. If you like a little crust then you want it in longer.

You can substitute other vegetables or add more spinach. I would rather use fresh tomatoes but couldn’t at the time I made this. I doubled this recipe and my family loved it. The Gouda Cheese is pricey but I found some at a good price. You could use ½ Gouda and ¼ Mozarella and make a nice medley.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Steak Sandwiches

Ingredients
3 lbs of cube steak
2 tbs. All Season Salt
Worcheshire Sauce
6 to 8 tbs. Butter
½ each red and green pepper sliced in stripes
1 onion sliced in stripes
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
½ cup Mozzarella Cheese

Put two tbs. of butter in a fry pan and once melted add onions, peppers and mushrooms and cook them until carmelized. Remove them from the pan.

When the vegetables are cooking slice the cube steak going with the grain of the meat. Slice them long ways into stripes. Add the seasoning salt on the top of the meat. Using the same pan the vegetables were in add 2 tbs. of butter. Add the meat with the seasoned side down in one layer, add the season salt to the side not seasoned while cooking the seasoned side. Flip the meat when the side is done, don’t stir it. Now that the other side is cooking, once it is done add the worchestshire sauce and a little more butter 2 tbs. is good. I like lots in my meat. Yumm… Add hot sauce of your choice about 4 – 6 drops. Add the vegetables back into the meat and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes stirring to combine all of the ingredients. While you are doing that butter your hoagie rolls and grill them until toasted. Add your mixture and then top with mozzarella cheese. You are ready to serve.

You will have leftovers. I vamped up the recipe from Pioneer Woman.com and added my own variation. I don’t use all the butter simply because it’s high in calories and not necessary, it’s still yummy without all the butter. We don’t like to eat a whole bunch of that. The veges are a nice addition too and if you like steak sandwiches you may like it more. You don’t need to toast or butter the hoagie rolls. You can use more cheese if you need to but you just need a sprinkle of it.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients
2 lbs of Chicken tenders or breasts boneless
1 cup of cheese cheddar shredded
½ med onion chopped
2 Bay leaf
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Thyme
20-24 Corn Tortillas
1 large can of red or green enchilada sauce we love green
Vegetable oil ¼ cup refill as needed

I boil my chicken pieces in water and add bay leaf, salt & pepper, cumin and thyme. I boil for about an hour and remove the chicken from the pot. It falls apart easily and I shred it by hand and set aside. Preheat oven at 375 degrees and use two baking pans. Put about ¼ to ½ cups of vegetable oil in a fry pan and heat on med to high heat. Give each tortilla a bath in the hot oil and set each aside. It softens the tortilla and it is important. I’ve tried it other ways but this is the best. You only leave each tortilla in for a minute and remove. After I am done with the tortillas I begin to roll them. I add a little onion to the chicken on the edge of each tortilla and roll putting them into the baking dish. You can add cheese to some of them if you want a little variety but I don’t measure. Don’t make them too fat or you will run out of chicken. After I roll them and get them into the pans I top them with the green sauce and a little cheese. I bake one and freeze the other prior to cooking. Bake them for about 20-30 minutes and top with sour cream. Yummy! I serve homemade beans and rice with them.


Bean Tostadas
Beef Tacos
Crab Sandwiches
Meatball Sandwiches
Lasagna
Burritos with Beans and Taco Meat
Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Okay so most of these aren’t that big of a deal… I doubled a few so that we have meals for other nights. The Lasagna was made for this coming Monday but I made it when I made the Meatball Sandwiches since I was cooking that kind of meal.

I wish I could say that I can feed a family of 6 on $375 like some other people do but really I’m pretty frugal and still have yet to do that. I guess it may be because I have adult eaters. More recipes to follow when I feel a little better.

Menu

First let me apologize to those who have commented or have tried to follow my blog. It's fixed finally. I don't know how but it is working.

Today I'm working on a menu for 30 days and trying some new recipes and old family favorites. I will share with you my monthly menu once I have it all done and finalized. I think menus are super important for many reasons. It helps you keep organized and you save money. I usually duplicate some of the recipes by doubling them and then sticking them into the freezer. I am going to use as many fresh ingredients as possible. I will share the cost of the ingredients and give you helpful tips. We will be shopping the ads so that we can maximize our savings and buy something ahead of time that we may need later in the month. Please keep in mind that my servings and recipes feed six people and they eat adult portions.

Tonight we made Baked Spinach Ziti with a side salad. I will share the recipe you later.

Gardening

This is a wonderful fun way to be green. I live in a rental house so this adds to my challenge to garden that some of you don't have. I am growing my garden in pots mainly. I have a puppy that likes to dig up everything I plant. He then gives me the puppy face as he crouches down knowing he's a bad boy. Oh yeah, back to gardening.

I have a pepper plant in the house with the intent to put it in a container but you can grow them indoors. The tomato that I planted in a container was ripped from its container by said puppy and it almost died. Thankfully it survived and now has tomatoes on it. I have a thriving basil plant on my window sill and its growing like crazy. I do have knats that I need to get rid of but want to do it organically. If you know of a way to do this please share. I will let you know what I come up with. I heard Lemongrass essential oils works but I can't find mine. I am trying not to use a pesticide since this is an organic plant. I also have a banana tree from Guam that had a baby in the same pot and we transplanted it a few days ago so now I have two banana trees. Thanks Rhonda we sure do love them. I have Aloe Veras that mostly went into the ground and are now in shock and purple. We put a few in a pot so that we could have some to move around. Thanks Tonya for this lovely blessing. Lastly we have seeds that we are in the process of growing and can't wait to plant those in the planters I intend to build for them. We are a little late but still in season with those. I want more tomatoes but we will see if I can get more.

Anyone have a peach tree in hot climate? We would love to plant one. Not sure if they can handle pots (huge) or not but would love it if they can. Most of what I have is organic and what I have that didn't start as organic is being treated organically now.

Bottled Water

I'm not sure about this template and it's function but please share your opinion if you have one. I know you are navigating yourselves around. I'm new to blogging but wanted something sharing my love for trees and natural beauty. It's truely Gods wonderful creation.

Today I'm just hoping to get this blog looking less boring and playing around with it.

There has been big talk about bottled water. Friend or Foe I personally don't use bottled water if at all possible. I just don't like the thought of those bottles sitting on a truck heating up and releasing all the baddies within them. The plastic has been known to carry Toxins and Pollutants and the water is like drinking from the tab anyways and tests show much of what we are trying to eliminate is still there in the bottle. Use a good filter or filter system at home and get a good water bottle. You will save money.

Hello

Hello,
My name is Pamela. I want to share with you my many wonderful tips on saving money in a healthy way. I don't mean coupon clipping although this is a great way to save money but doesn't always mean healthy. I've learned so much about health and why we are unhealthy so much of the time.

I'm a mom of four and want nothing more than to feed my family good food for low cost. When I say good food, I mean healthy good whole foods. I try to buy and prepare whole foods and not from the can or box. It's tough in this economy but our food supply is full of very bad stuff. I try to buy organic or from local farmers when I can but it's not always an option for me.

I hope to share with you my journey to healthy living through this blog and really hope you enjoy it as much as I will sharing it with you.

I will be adding recipes for various things in the weeks to come and I hope I can keep up with your reading.