Roasted Vegetable & Ricotta Pizza

What You'll Need:

• Pizza dough, either refrigerated or scratch made
• 2 cups Cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup Zucchini, sliced
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 medium Yellow Bell Pepper, sliced
• 1 medium Red Onion, sliced
• 5 1/2 tsp Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/3 cup part-skim Ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp fresh Basil leaves

What You'll Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
2. Ready and pre-bake your pizza dough according to directions or recipe.
3. Combine the mushrooms, zucchini, black pepper, red onion, and bell pepper in a large bowl, mixing with 1 1/2 tsp Olive Oil.
4. Arrange vegetables on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.  
5. Brush the pre-baked pizza dough with 1 tsp Olive Oil, then spread your tomato sauce over the dough leaving a border for a crust.
6. Sprinkle 1/2 cup Mozzarella over the tomato sauce and top with the vegetables.
7. Over the vegetables sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Mozzarella and crushed red peppers. Then dollop with the Ricotta cheese.
8. Bake pizza for 11 minutes or until crust is golden and cheeses are melted. Once the pizza comes out of the oven top with fresh Basil leaves.

** I use Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough; all you need to do is unroll the dough. Nothing easier! **

Dish Info:

This delicious recipe serves 8 hungry adults at 347 calories a serving. It is taken from the April 2011 issue of Cooking Light.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

What You'll Need:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup wheat bran
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
•  1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/3 cups bananas, mashed (2-3 medium bananas)
• 1/3 cup applesauce, unflavored
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped

What To Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line your muffin pan with paper or foil liners. If you prefer, you can spray the muffin cups with non-stick spray instead.
2. In a large bowl combine both flours, your wheat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl combine your eggs and milk. Once mixed, stir in the bananas, applesauce, and vanilla.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened.
5. Add your chocolate chips to the mix and stir together.
6. Fill your prepared muffin cups three-fourths full and sprinkle the chopped pecans over the batter.
7. Bake for 18-22 minutes.

** If you don't have whole wheat flour or wheat bran on hand, just substitute all-purpose flour in their place. Same goes for substituting vegetable oil for the applesauce. Your muffins will still taste super yummy, they just won't be as healthy. Also, I use wheat germ in place of wheat bran, simply because I can't find wheat bran in my tiny town. **


Dish Info:

Each muffin contains 191 calories if prepared as the recipe states. I got this dish from my wonderful Taste of Home Cookbook. You should be able to bake a dozen muffins with this recipe.

Basic Pot Roast

What You'll Need

• 2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (10.75-oz each)
• 1 package dry onion soup mix (1-oz)
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 5 1/2 pounds pot roast
• 1/2 pound baby carrots
• 5 or 6  New Potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
• 1 onion, sliced

What To Do

1. Place the carrots, potatoes, onion, and pot roast in your slow cooker.
2. In a bowl mix together the cans of soup, dry soup mix, and water.
3. Pour soup mixture over pot roast and vegetables and cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Dish Info

This recipe will serve 12 hungry appetites and makes for great left-overs. This is adapted from this recipe found on AllRecipes.com

Sweet Potato & Apple Saute

What You'll Need

• 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
• 2 Golden Delicious apples, unpeeled and diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cans sweet potatoes, drained and diced (15-oz each)
• 1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt

What To Do

1. In a large skillet, melt your butter over medium-high heat.
2. To the skillet add the apples and onions, cooking until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in diced sweet potatoes, apple juice (or cider), pumpkin pie spice, vinegar, and salt, bringing the mixture to a boil then reducing the heat.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Dish Info

This recipe will serve 6 people, depending on your appetites. It is also straight from the Semi-Homemade Queen, Sandra Lee, and her wonderful book Semi-Homemade 20 Minute Meals.

Rosemary Pork Chops

What You'll Need

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, center-cut pork chops
• 1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp Rosemary
•  2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• salt, to taste 
• pepper, to taste

What To Do

1. Season your pork chops with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. On a plate combine the bread crumbs and Rosemary and press both sides of the pork chops into the mixture to coat.
3. In a large skillet heat the olive oil, once hot add pork chops and cook 4-6 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

** I only keep unseasoned bread crumbs in the house for a wider range of uses. For this recipe I simply add Italian seasoning, usually about 1 tbsp or so, to the regular bread crumbs and mix. No buying of "specialized" ingredients! **


Dish Info

This recipe serves 4 hungry appetites. It is also straight from the Semi-Homemade Queen, Sandra Lee, and her wonderful book Semi-Homemade 20 Minute Meals.

Baked Apples

What You'll Need

• 6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Cloves
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 Walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup milk

What To Do

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Cloves.
3. Add your sliced apples to the sugar mixture, stirring to coat.
4. Fold the raisins and Walnuts into the apples and spoon the fruit into your prepared baking dish, spooning milk over top.
5. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until apples are soft. Allow dish to cook slightly before serving.

Dish Info 

This delicious recipe serves 12 appetites, and can be easily halved. It is also scrumptious when served with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream.

Cuban Chicken Pizza

What You'll Need

• 4 tortillas
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 2 cups chicken, cooked & diced
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 3/4 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 4 tsp Cilantro, chopped

What To Do

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place tortillas on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. When you remove the tortillas, stack them and press down to flatten.
3. Heat a skillet coated with cooking spray and cook corn until it is lightly charred.
4. Add Cumin, chicken, black beans, and garlic to corn and cook until thoroughly heated.
5. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the lime juice.
6. Place the tortillas back on a baking sheet and spoon the chicken mixture onto each tortilla, topping with cheese and Cilantro.
7. Bake until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.

Dish Info

This recipe serves 4 people. The Chicken mixture also keeps well to use the following day.

Braised Chicken with Carrots & Potatoes

What You'll Need

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 lb new potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch chunks
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried Thyme
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 6 chicken thighs, bonless and skinned

What To Do

1. Slightly grease your slow-cooker and place sliced onions in the bottom, followed by the cut potatoes and baby carrots.
2. Combine 3/4 ts
3. Combine 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, chicken broth, white wine, garlic and Thyme and pour into the slow-cooker.
4. Mix together the remaining salt and pepper as well as the Paprika and run the spices evenly over the chicken thighs, arrange them on top of the vegetables when finished.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

** If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, feel free to replace the wine with 1/4 cup of chicken stock **

Dish Info

This recipe serves 6 people, depending on your appetite.

Black Bean Chili

What You'll Need

• 3 cans of Black Beans, rinsed and drained (15-oz each)
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 can of chicken broth (14-oz)
• 2 cans Rotel, undrained (15.4-oz each)

What To Do

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot, and add your chopped onion and ground meat and saute until the meat is cooked through.
2. Stir into the pot the Chili Powder, ground Cumin, salt, and pepper and continue to saute for an additional minute.
3. Add the beans, chicken stock, and Rotel to the meat mixture and bring it to a boil. Cover your pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. 

*The long you allow the chili to simmer to spicier it will taste. Rob likes it best when it simmers for 30 minutes*

Dish Info

This recipe will serve about 8 people, depending on appetites.

Fruit Salad

What You'll Need

• 2 cups strawberries, sliced
• 1 lb seedles grapes
• 3 bananas, peeled & sliced
• 8-oz strawberry yogurt

What To Do

1. Mix all ingredients together and serve immediately.

Dish Info

This recipe contains 12 servings, depending on your appetite.