Jumbo Shells with Cheese and Spinach Filling

Sorry, not the best picture....

You can customize this recipe to your tastes. You can use different veggies if you don't like spinach or no veggies at all. I haven't tried it, but I'm sure you could add in 1lb of any meat or fake meat product, though if you add too much you might need to buy another box of noodles :) Also I use cottage cheese in the recipe to help dilute all the Ricotta cheese which is really heavy and dense, you can use all ricotta or all cottage cheese if you like. I also use the fat-free or light versions when I can just to bring the fat content down, but you can use whichever you like.

Ingredients:
1 box (12 oz.) Jumbo Shell Noodles (I use Ronzoni brand)
15 oz Fat free Ricotta Cheese
16 oz Fat free Cottage Cheese
1C Shredded Mozzarella
2 Eggs
1/8t ground Nutmeg
1/4t ground Black Pepper
1-10 oz package frozen chopped Spinach
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce (I used Classico Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic 24oz)
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile in medium bowl, stir together ricotta, cottage and 1/2C of mozzarella cheeses, eggs, pepper and nutmeg. Lightly spray 13 x 9" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Thaw frozen spinach in microwave. After the spinach has been thawed squeeze all excess water from it, break up any clumps and add to cheese mixture. Fill each shell with cheese/spinach mixture and place into pan until entire pan is full. Cover with spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top for flavor and add the remaining 1/2C of mozzarella to the top (not too much it really covers when it melts!).

Shown before baking

To Cook:
Bake 35-40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy! We did! :]

Spinach Shrimp Lasagna

You can customize this recipe to your tastes. If you don't like shrimp you can substitute 1lb of any meat product. You can also use different veggies if you don't like spinach. I like to use the no-boil lasagna noodles because I'm lazy ;] You can use regular noodles if you like, but remember you need to boil them first. Also I use cottage cheese in the recipe to help dilute all the Ricotta cheese which is really heavy and dense, you can use all ricotta or all cottage cheese if you like. Just adjust the amount you're using.Also I found that I could have used more sauce, so if you like a lot of sauce you may want to use 1.5-2 jars of spaghetti sauce instead of the one jar I used.

Ingredients:
1 box (9 oz.) Lasagna Noodles (I used the no-boil Barilla brand)
2 Eggs
1/2C Grated Parmesan Cheese
4C Shredded Mozzarella
10 oz Ricotta Cheese
10 oz Fat free Cottage Cheese
1-10 oz package frozen chopped Spinach
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce (I used Classico Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic 24oz)
1lb Shrimp, thawed

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray 13 x 9" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Thaw frozen spinach in microwave. In large bowl beat eggs. Stir in ricotta, cottage cheese, 2C mozzarella and the parmesan. After cheese/egg mixture is blended add the spinach after squeezing all excess water from it.

To Assemble:
When layering lasagna noodles, slightly overlap the sheets. The lasagna will expand to the edges during cooking. Spread fillings to edges to seal in and cook the lasagna during baking.

1. Spread 1C of sauce on bottom of baking pan.
2. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of cheese mixture, half of shrimp, 1C mozzarella, and 1C sauce.
3. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of cheese mixture, and 1C sauce.
4. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, the remaining cheese mixture and shrimp, and 1C sauce.
5. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, the remaining sauce, and remaining 1C of mozzarella.


To Cook:
Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, 50-60 minutes. Make sure that the noodles have cooked fully if you are using no-boil noodles. Remove foil and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy! We did! :]

Pizza Burger Pita Pockets

This recipe can be customized to your liking. Feel free to try different flavors of burgers, fake chicken patties, salmon burgers, canned tuna, etc. Add mustard, different veggies, ditch the hummus and add cheese, whatever floats your boat! I love this sandwich because its super easy, super fast and its only 200 and something calories! Enjoy :]


Ingredients:
1/2 of a Pita pocket
1 Fake meat burger (I use Morningstar Pizza Burger yum!)
1-3T Hummus
Large handful Baby Spinach

Directions:
1. Take half of a pita pocket and smear as much hummus into it as you like.
2. Add burger and spinach.
3. Eat.

Chocolate chip, Oatmeal, Cranberry, Coconut, Walnut Cookies of Amazingness!

You can leave out any addition to this recipe or add something else that you like. A 1/2 cup of Butterscotch chips is a nice addition if you have a sweet tooth. You can use any kind of nut you like, I use pecans, but you could use walnuts, macadamia etc. Grab a strong armed man to come do your mixing for you or your arms are going to get a real workout on this one! :] My boyfriend and 8 year old LOVE these cookies!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (not margarine it doesn't work so well)
3/4C granulated sugar
3/4C packed brown sugar
1t vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2C (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1C chopped Pecans
1C Oatmeal
1/2C Shredded Coconut
1/2C Dried Cranberries

* Correction see note at bottom *

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, oatmeal and baking soda in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in coconut, cranberries, chocolate chips and nuts; stirring thoroughly after each addition. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

* 2/23/10 *

So I baked these again tonight and I made a few changes which came out sensationally! I added 1/2t of cinnamon and I increased the coconut and the cranberries to 3/4C each. Soooooo yummy! The cinnamon really ties all the flavors together nicely :]

Cheese "Burger" Pasta

Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutes
This recipe can be customized to your liking. Feel free to put less or more ketchup, leave out the crumble, add veggie sausage, add veggies like tomatoes or mushrooms, ditch the broth in favor of water etc. This is a VERY forgiving recipe that you really can't mess up! My boyfriend loves this one! Enjoy :]


Ingredients:
1 bag (12oz) Fake Meat Crumble (Morningstar, Boca etc)
1 can (10 3/4oz) Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup
1 can (14oz) Vegetable Broth
1C Water
1/2 C Ketchup
2 1/2C Whole Wheat Medium Shell Pasta

Directions:
Slightly "brown" crumble in pan to heat up and crisp up to your liking. Add all ingredients to pan. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 min or until done, stirring often.

(This is a Campbell's recipe that I modified to make it better lol)

Super Easy "Cheater" Tuna Casserole

This is THE easiest, fastest tuna casserole in existance! I will post a slightly more traditional version soon. You can add any veggies that you would like such as peas and carrots. I also do a variation in which I add a can of cream corn and leave out the milk which is very yummy! Season this to your tastes. Enjoy :]

Ingredients:
1 box Mac & Cheese
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (or your favorite)
1 can White Albacore Chunk Tuna in water
Splash of milk to preference

Directions:
Boil macaroni noodles according to box. Add cheese packet, mushroom soup, tuna and milk; stir until blended. Season to taste. I use white pepper, garlic powder and Mrs Dash.


This is 100% my recipe!

Cornbread Casserole

This is VERY moist and dense casserole-style cornbread, not your typical dry cornbread! Feel free to add whatever you like to this recipe: jalapenos, green chilies, onions, cumin etc. I do think it needs some type of spice to give it a little more oomph.

Ingredients:
1 can (15oz) Whole Kernal Corn
1 can (14.75oz) Cream Corn
2 Eggs
1 package (8oz) Dry Cornbread Mix
1C Sour Cream
8oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13" baking pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine corn, eggs, cornbread mix and sour cream; stir until blended. Pour batter into greased pan; sprinkle with cheese.

3. Bake in preheated oven 30min or until golden brown.

(This recipe courtesy of Hobolth4)