Carroll Creations

I’m not sure if I have mentioned this before or not but – I love Real Simple! A lot! This lasagna is, well, from Real Simple. And – it is delicious. Really. I made this for our dear friends Meredith and Zach, and although they have acted like they like everything I make, I think everyone realllly liked this one.

Funny story on this one. It calls for heavy cream. Well, I had no idea what that was when I went to the store and didn’t really know where to look. I found “heavy whipped butter” and decided oh, that must be it! Well, that is not it. I opened the package while making the lasagna and realized very soon that it was not going to work. Luckily, you can make heavy cream out of 3/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup butter. So, that’s what I did and it worked great.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce container ricotta
1 pound frozen broccoli florets—thawed, patted dry, and chopped
2 1/4 cups grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
salt and black pepper
1 16-ounce jar marinara sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream (or 3/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup butter)
8 no-boil lasagna noodles (I used regular lasagna noodles and boiled them)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the foil

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400º F. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, broccoli, 2 cups of the mozzarella, ¼ cup of the Parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In a small bowl, combine the marinara sauce and cream.
2. Spoon a thin layer of the sauce into the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 2 noodles, a quarter of the remaining sauce, and a third of the broccoli mixture; repeat twice. Top with the remaining 2 noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of mozzarella and ¼ cup of Parmesan.
3. Cover tightly with an oiled piece of foil and bake until the noodles are tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

I served this lasagna with the previously mentioned lemon salad. Yum!

(Original Recipe)

Just a quick post tonight. I found a new website for recipes the other day: www.mixingbowl.com. Seems like it has good posts made by members of the site. One extra that I like is that you can join groups that share certain types of recipes.

Other websites I visit frequently are: Realsimple.com and Bettycrocker.com, along with many blogs like Thinkliz.com and Smittenkitchen.com.

What are your favorite cooking websites? Do you have a go-to source online?

This recipe comes out of a Better Homes and Garden cookbook for eating healthy. The section it is found in is Kid’s Favorites… and this is the section I have used most for us! Not sure what to think of that. Anyways, this recipe is done in a healthy way so there is no deep frying and it is a quick meal, you can make it in 25 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 8-uonce can pineapple chunks
1/2 cup bottled sweet and sour sauce
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 medium red sweet pepper, cut into bite-size strips (1 cup)
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot (1)
4 teaspoons cooking oil
1 cup fresh pea pods, tips and stems removed (I used green beans)
2 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:
1. Drain pineapple, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice; set pineapple chunks aside.
2. In a small bowl stir together the reserved pineapple juice and the sweet-and-sour sauce; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl toss chicken with soy sauce; set aside.
4. In a large nonstick skillet cook and stir sweet pepper and carrot in 3 teaspoons of the hot oil over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add pea pods (or green beans). Cook and stir about 1 minute more or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from skillet; set aside.
5. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to skillet. Using a slotted spoon, add chicken to skillet. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
6. Add sweet-and-sour sauce mixture, vegetable mixture, and pineapple chunks; heat through.
7. Serve chicken mixture with hot cooked rice.

We liked this okay. I haven’t made it again, but I would if I had the ingredients on hand. It is a healthy recipe that is a little different than we usually eat!

This recipe was given to me from my mom, and I am not positive of the original source. It is a little healthier than your typical chicken parmesan recipe. (By the way, every time I type parmesan – I want to type parmigan.) We love this recipe and Jonny has even asked for this over going to Olive Garden (our favorite place).

In the picture, I am serving it with a leftover breadstick from Olive Garden. Also, with a very simple salad. We have used both Romaine lettuce and spinach for this salad. Then, just add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Light and delicious!

Chicken Parmesan Recipe:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of egg substitute
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups of pasta sauce
4 oz. mozzarella  cheese slices (or shredded mozzarella cheese like shown here – I’ve used both, no difference in taste to me, just difference in looks)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425. Lightly spray 9×13 baking dish with nonfat cooking spray.
2. Pour egg substitute into a small bowl
3. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano – mix well.
3. Dip each chicken breast into egg substitute and then roll in bread crumbs to coat on all sides.
4. Place chicken breasts in baking dish and back 30-34 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Pour pasta sauce over chicken and top with cheese slices.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 375 and cook until sauce is hot and cheese is melted, about 5-10 minutes.

Oh, and something to mention, we really like our chicken to be flat rather than really thick. So, before making this, I flattened the chicken down a bit.

Enjoy!

I love broccoli. Jonny loves broccoli. We eat a lot of broccoli. (My mom ate a lot of broccoli when she was pregnant with me, too!) So, anything with broccoli always catches my eye. The first time I made this, I was cooking for our good friends, Meredith and Zach. I had found the recipe out of a Real Simple magazine (Oct. 08) and transferred it into my own written cookbook. Well, during the transfer, I missed a step and ended up having a tiny freak-out in the middle of making it. But, I was able to save it and found out through the mix up that you don’t have to just use cheddar cheese to make this good!

Ingredients:

3/4 pound medium pasta shells (about 5 cups)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
2 cups coarsely grated Cheddar (8 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 16-ounce bag frozen broccoli florets, thawed

Directions: (I am referencing the actual magazine while doing this to make sure I get all of the directions down!)

1. Heat broiler. Cook the pasta according to the package directions
2. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of the cheese and stir until melted. Stir in the nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
4. Add the pasta and broccoli and toss to combine. Transfer to a broilerproof 8-inch square or another 1 and 1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Broil until golden, 3 to 4 minutes.

PS: Meredith and Zach always seem to come over when I am making something completely new. Coming soon will be lasagna I made for them this past week!

(Recipe found in Real Simple Magazine, October 2008)

Yum! I have made this meal a few times, one being to take to our home group’s fellowship night. It was a hit there and is always a hit with Jonny. The first time I made this meal, I didn’t have a potato peeler – wow, what a difference that can make! We really like pesto, so I use a whole cup of it, doubling the amount of pesto called for in the recipe. I also just used canned green beans, I’m sure fresh are better – but it’s great with canned!

Ingredients:

1 cup of pesto
8 oz. penne or rotini pasta
8 oz. green beans, trimmed and halved
2 waxy potatoes
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes and place into a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta, return to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the green beans. Return the water to a boil and cook until vegetables are tender and the pasta is done according to package directions.
4. Drain and toss with pesto. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve warm.