Super Fast Pasta Bake

I know we all have days where the last thing we want to do is make dinner.  I have these a lot.  But in efforts of saving money I force my self to come up with something.  This looks like it would be a great save.  Dump it in a pan, put it in the oven, and walk away.  Or whip up a batch of these dreamy bread sticks.  
So, give this a try and let me know how you like it and what changes you make.  Happy cooking.
Recipe and photos are from realmomkitchen.com.

Super Fast Pasta Bake

8 oz. elbow macaroni or other small shaped pasta (I used mini bow tie pasta)
4 1/4 cups spaghetti/marinara sauce
1 cup water
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese ( I used a cheese blend)

In a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, combine the spaghetti/marinara sauce, water, and tomatoes.  Stir in raw pasta.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45  minutes to 1 hour until pasta is tender.  Top with cheese and place back in the oven uncovered.  Bake a few more minutes until cheese is melted.

Orange-Glazed Bunny Rolls

I am still telling my self that Spring is here.  To me, Spring means Easter. I love Easter, and even though it is still a month away, I thought these Rolls would be a lot of fun.  I just got a half a case of oranges too, so that was even more of an incentive.  This recipe came from one of my favorite recipe sources tasteofhome.com
Here is the link to the recipe.  The picture and recipe below are from Taste of Home.   Have fun cooking and please share your thoughts and changes.


Orange-Glazed Bunny Rolls

• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 to 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  GLAZE:
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade
• 1/2 teaspoon butter, softened

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, eggs, sugar, orange juice, orange peel, salt and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled; about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; turn on a lightly floured surface. Divide into 13 pieces. Shape 12 pieces into 12-in. ropes. Fold each in half; twist top half of the open and twice to form ears. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Shape remaining dough into 12 balls. Place one on the loop end of each roll to form a tail; press into dough. cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients; beat until blended. Spread over rolls. Yield: 1 dozen.

Green Salad with Pears, Feta and Cinnamon Walnuts

I believe Spring might actually be coming. Yea.  I am so excited.  To celebrate, I think a salad would be perfect. This salad came from a wonderful site called Jamie Cooks It Up. She has some really great home cooked recipes.    Check out her blog.  You may wonder how you ever did without it.  Here is the link to the recipe.  The recipe and photo below are from Jamie Cooks It Up.

Green Salad with Pears, Feta and Cinnamon Walnuts

Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 15 servings

Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

Cinnamon Walnuts:

1 C walnuts, chopped

1/4 C sugar

1/8 t cinnamon

dash salt

Salad:

2 heads green leafy lettuce

1/2 red onion

1 C feta cheese

4 Bartlett pears

Dressing:

1/3 C + 2 T apple cider vinegar (don't laugh at my math skills please.)

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C mayonnaise (I used light)

1/4 C red onion, roughly chopped

1/2 C + 2 T canola oil (again, I am not a mathematician....)

1/4 t dry mustard

1/2 t salt

Juice from 1 lemon

1. In a large hot skillet add your chopped walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cook them over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves and begins to make a candy coating along the nuts. Be careful not to let them burn. Pour them out onto a cookie sheet to cool.

2. Put all of your dressing ingredients, but the oil into a blender. Turn the old girl on, and slowly add your oil. Let it blend for about 1 minute after the oil has been added.

3. Chop up your lettuce, red onion, crumble up your feta and add all three to a large bowl.

4. Just before serving slice and chop your pears. Add them to the salad and sprinkle with the Cinnamon Walnuts. Add the dressing a little at a time, and stir the salad to incorporate.You may have a bit of the dressing left over, depending on how large your heads of lettuce are. Don't drowned the salad....you just need enough so that all parts of the salad are lightly coated.

***NOTE: The pears, cinnamon walnuts and dressing should be added just before serving. Brown pears, soggy nuts and wilted lettuce will be your fate if they are added before hand.***

Pumpkin Butter

My other love (I posted about my love of breads last week) is breakfast.  I love trying new breakfast recipes.  This recipe enticed me because it is used in a lot of different recipes.  Most of them, breakfast recipes.  Oh yea!  I also wanted to try it because it is good for you.  I got this recipe at skinnytaste.com.  I am loving her site and very excited to try some of her recipes.  They are especially good if you are looking at staying healthy.  The recipe I am posting for the club is Pumpkin Butter, but you can use your pumpkin butter in this pumpkin smoothie,










or use it to top these pumpkin spice pancakes








or these pumpkin spiced crepes.










Oh man, my mouth is watering.  All the photos and recipes are from skinnytaste.com. Please post your thoughts and any suggestions you have for future recipes.  I am off to cook.


A note from the author:  A few ideas that come to mind with what you can do with pumpkin butter; serve it on toast or scones, add it to your latte for a pumpkin latte, make pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin cheesecake, add it to yogurt with granola for a pumpkin yogurt parfait... have I enticed you yet? I cooked a pumpkin in my crock pot and pureed it in the blender, but canned pumpkin would work just as good. I love using real cinnamon sticks for this, but ground cinnamon would work in place of them.

Pumpkin Butter
Gina's Skinny Recipes 
Servings: 14 • Serving Size: 1/4 cup • Old Points: 1.5 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 88.2 • Fat: 0.3 g • Protein: 1.0 g • Carb: 27.3 g • Fiber: 2.5 g   

• 3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, or 1 (29 ounce) can (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup apple cider or juice
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 1-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

Combine pureed pumpkin, vanilla, apple juice, spices, cinnamon sticks and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. Adjust spices to your taste. 

Chewy Pretzel Bites

I am a huge fan of breads, but I promise we will only devote one week a month to a bread recipe.  I really enjoy making homemade pretzels and have a really quick and easy recipe that I love.  I have never dipped mine in baking soda water before. I am curious to see if it is worth the extra step.  These just look so good.
If you haven't worked with yeast before, I highly recommend it.  I love yeast breads and I promise, there is nothing to fear.  It is so easy and so rewarding.  You can find the original post here at melskitchencafe.com.  It is also posted here.  Don't forget to post your thoughts on this recipe.  Enjoy and happy cooking.

  

Chewy Pretzel Bites

from melskitchencafe.com

*Note: if using active dry yeast, increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon. Proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar (let it bubble and foam - maybe about 5 minutes) before adding it to the flour and salt.

*Makes about 2 dozen pretzel bites

Dough:

2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water

Topping:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water

2 tablespoons baking soda

Coarse salt (optional)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn't overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7-8  minutes or until they're golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time - it won't hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.

Beef Cabbage Soup

Here is the first recipe.  I have had a hard time deciding what to go with.  However,  when I got in my car yesterday and the temperature was once again below zero, I knew it had to be soup.  I am posting a recipe that I really want to try.  Any one who wants to also try it, leave your comment about what you thought and what changes you made.  Now, if this recipe doesn't appeal to you, I encourage you to share your favor soup recipe. 

This recipe is found at cuttingbackkitchen.blogspot.com.  While you are there.  Explore her site.  She has some great recipes.  I will also provide the recipe below.  Enjoy and happy cooking.

 

 

Beef Cabbage Soup

1 pound hamburger
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 med onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper
2 - 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes
2 - 15 oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 cups water
1/2 small head of cabbage
8 oz. can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger-drain off grease. Add all ingredients to pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat and simmer 1 hour.

*You can also make this in your crock pot. Brown you hamburger, drain, and add all other ingredients to crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
*She also says it freezes well in a freezer quality, zip top bag.

Let's get started

Okay ladies. I am so excited to start this new journey and to have you here with me. So before we start with a recipe, I just want to know what your goals are. Do you want budget friendly recipes? Or healthy? Or back to basics? New and extravagant? We could do whatever. If you have any ideas on what you want to start with, just shout it out. (Typing works well also.)

What I would like, is if we all take turns each time picking a recipe. Any time you don't want to participate that is fine. But, I know I want to step outside of my comfort zone. By have others pick the food, I know this will help me. (I would even be willing to cook fish, and for me, that would be a big deal.)

Also, I want you guys to let me know what would make this the best for you. Invite anyone you want and lets just have fun. If you want to do something weekly, awesome. If you want to start out slow and just doing monthly, that is great to. Now it is up to you.