Marianne's Manicotti

OK. This recipe is yummy and easy—it doesn't require stuffing cooked manicotti shells that break. I got it from my old roommate Marianne an it is a favorite now for when Corlan is out of town and I can indulge in some cheese!

1 block shredded mozzarella
1 container ricotta cheese (the bigger option not the smaller one)
1 box manicotti shells uncooked
1 jar ragu sauce
Parmesan cheese
Optional: fresh or dried basil

Mix mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and basil (if using). Pour half the Ragu sauce in the bottom of a pan. Stuff into dry manicotti shells and place them in the pan. Fill Ragu bottle the rest of the way with water. Shake until remaining pasta and water have mixed. Pour over noodles.

Cover with foil and cook at 350 for 60 minutes. Remove cover and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, then return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lemony Lentil Soup

This recipe is from my ward cookbook in Ann Arbor. I really like this soup and is a great way to explore cooking with lentils. :)
Contributor:	Sondra Sumsion Soderborg
Category:	Soups, Salads, and Sauces
Ingredients:	3 Tbl. olive oil, more for drizzling 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 Tbl. tomato paste 1 tsp ground cumin ¼ tsp salt, more to taste ¼ tsp ground black pepper Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne,  more to taste 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth 1 cup red lentils, picked and rinsed 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced Juice of ½ lemon, more to taste 3 Tbl chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Directions:	In a large pot, heat 3 Tbl. oil over medium high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne and sauté for 2 minutes longer. Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, puree half the soup; it should be somewhat chunky. Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired. Serves 4.

Cheater Post...Biscuits and Gravy Solution

I really, really love biscuits and gravy. Like really love them. Here is the problem. For the life of me, I can't make a good biscuit. I've tried bisquick, I've tried from scratch, I've tried the refrigerated pop cans. Nothing worked and my craving for good biscuits and gravy have yet to be fulfilled. Until this last weekend when I discovered these:

I know it is totally cheating, but they are so yummy. They get so big and flaky and delicious.

Don't judge. Just go buy and try these things. Your biscuits and gravy will never be the same again!

Baked Oatmeal Take Two

Ok I'm a ding dong and realized I posted the last recipe twice instead if this delish recipe. So go try this one right now. You won't regret it:

Ingredients
 2 cups of rolled oats
 ½ cup brown sugar
 ½ teaspoon baking soda
 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1½ cups of berries (I used a frozen berry blend from the grocery store, but fresh would be delicious!) 1 egg 1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1½ cups vanilla almond milk
½ cup mini chocolate chips
1 banana    

Instructions  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. Fold frozen berries into dry mix. Dump dry mixture into a greased, 9" x 13" pan In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, almond milk, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture over the oatmeal mixture making sure to evenly distribute it. You can shake the pan a little to make sure it is getting distributed everywhere. Slice your banana into ¼ inch slices and spread them out over the oatmeal. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until it looks fully cooked. Sprinkle with additional brown sugar and serve warm.

Overnight Oatmeal

I forgot who I was telling about this recipe. So hopefully someone finds this useful:

Ingredients:
2 cups oats (regular or quick-cooking, but not steel-cut or instant)
2 cups milk (I use and calculated the nutrition with 1%, but you can use whatever milk you like, including things like unsweetened almond or coconut milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or your favorite sweetener)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt (optional)
1 6-ounce package raspberries
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Instructions:
In a medium bowl, combine the oats, milk, extracts, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and the salt (if using). Gently add the raspberries, then divide evenly among 4 8-ounce jars or containers. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, top with sliced almonds and serve cold. Makes 4 servings.

Turkey Chili

I know it's not soup season but since I'm posting I'm going to post all my favs.

Ingredients

• ¼ Cup Olive Oil
• ¼ Cup Butter (unsalted preferred)
• 1 Anaheim Chile seeded and chopped or one can chopped green chills
• ½ red onion chopped
• 2 stalks celery finely chopped
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 1 leek white part only chopped (optional)
• 2 tsp. crushed garlic or 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• ¼ cup corn flour (optional)
• 1 tsp. red pepper crushed (cayenne)
• 2 Tbs. Ground Cumin
• 2 Tbs. Ground Coriander
• 1 tsp. salt
• ⅛ cup sugar (optional)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 bag frozen corn
• 4 cans of beans (your choice)--we love cannelini, kidney, pinto, and black (you can drain and rinse these or not--whatever you'd like)
• 2 lbs. ground turkey or 4 cups diced turkey (your choice)
• Toppings:
• Tortilla Chips
• Sour Cream
• Grated cheese
• Cilantro
• Avocado sliced or diced

Instructions

1. Brown turkey in a sauté pan and set aside.
2. In a separate sauté pan, add olive oil and butter, heat through until butter is melted. Add chopped chilis, onions, celery, red pepper, leek, and garlic. Sauté 10 minutes, or until vegetables are transparent. Add spices, sugar and corn flour.
3. In a large soup pot, pour in chicken broth, begin heating and add turkey, sautéed vegetable mixture, beans and frozen corn. Heat through. Keep warm on stovetop until ready to serve. Add toppings of your choice--grated cheese, sliced avocado, sour cream and cilantro are favorites.
4. Refrigerate leftovers up to three days; reheats well in microwave or on stovetop.

Vegetable Minestrone Soup

I know you have all been missing my recipes. This one is a good one. I'm not going to lie I haven't gotten Dan or Tyce to eat it but Jada and I sure love it. Plus, I make a batch and eat it for lunch all week.

Ingredients

• 2-3 Tbs. olive oil or butter
• 1C diced celery
• 1C diced onion
• 1-2 C diced carrots
• 28-30 oz. diced tomatos or tomato sauce or a combination
• 32 oz. chicken broth
• 1 can garbanzo beans drained
• 1 can white kidney beans drained
• 1-2 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 medium zucchini cut in one inch pieces
• 1 cup frozen green beans or frozen peas
• 1 cup ditalini or other small pasta
• ½ tsp.oregano
• ½ tsp. basil
• ½ tsp. coriander
• ½ tsp. thyme
• ½ tsp. garlic salt

Instructions

1. In the soup pot melt butter or oil and add celery, carrots, and onions. sauté on medium for 10 minutes until onions are transparent.
2. Add tomatoes and sauce, chicken broth, beans, zucchini, pasta, and cabbage.
3. Add spices, Simmer for 20 minutes until zucchini is cooked.
4. Serve with croutons, parmesan cheese and italian parsley.

Sweet Baby Ray's Copycat BBQ Sauce

I love BBQ sauce and when we were in Michigan I discovered Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. It is really good. I found this copycat recipe and it is great. It is awesome on a BBQ chicken pizza or anywhere else you use BBQ sauce. :)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup Ketchup (Last time I used tomato sauce and it worked well)
1 cup dark brown sugar (I am trying to cut back on our refined sugar intake so I cut this way back and just added more pineapple juice, it was still good. I am going to try part honey next time.)
2 T molasses
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup water
1 tsp Apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Smoked paprika (or normal paprika)
2 T. mustard powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Whole Wheat 30 Minute Cinnamon Buns

I was a little skeptical when I first found this recipe. I found it on halfbakedharvest.com. I changed a few things she did, but I think they turned out really good. Without my kitchenaide I get tired of kneading dough...I was excited this recipe required no kneading. It seriously was 30 minutes from start to finish. :)

Ingredients:

Dough:
3 cups flour (2 cups whole wheat 1 cup white)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Filling:
melted butter (you choose how much)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Cream Cheese frosting

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Spring muffin tin with cooking spray. (You could probably make them on a jelly roll pan or something else, but I followed her suggestion)

To make the dough place the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir in the buttermilk until a dough ball forms. Turn out onto a heavily floured surface (make sure there is plenty of flour, the dough is very wet). Roll out into a rectangle and proceed like normal cinnamon rolls. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until browned. Spread icing on top and enjoy! :)

Tortillas

I LOVE this recipe. I have tried a few different recipes for tortillas and they never turn out right. I got this recipe from a friend in Ann Arbor. They turn out perfect if you put the dough in the refrigerator for a while before cooking them. Lately I have been making a lot of dough and putting it in the fridge. Whenever we need tortillas I just use some of the dough and put the rest in back in the fridge. Here is the recipe.

Servings: 32

5 cups flour (1/2 whole wheat if you want)
1/3 cup shortening
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups water

Combine everything except the water. Knead together with hands or beaters until well mixed. Add about 2 cups warm water until dough sticks together and will not stick to hands. Divide into egg size balls, roll out, throw to stretch. Cook in cast iron or heavy aluminum dry pan, hot and quick. Do not over cook.

For (15) tortillas use:
3 cups flour
3 Tbsp. shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup water

Chocolate Lover's Brownies

I love this brownie recipe. I am tired for looking it up so I thought I would share it here. :) They are extra yummy with the cocoa powder I buy here. It is from the Netherlands and it is really rich and delicious. I am sending some cocoa powder back with Nate next week so you guys can try it. I seriously LOVE it.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: Blend butter, sugar & vanilla in a large bowl. Add eggs; using a

wooden spoon beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder

and salt; gradually blend into egg mixture. Stir in chocolate

chips. Spread into greased 9" square pan. Bake at 350º for 20-

25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from edges of

pan.

Mustard chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 3 tablespoons honey, or more, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock, or more, to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 sprigs rosemary
FOR THE MUSTARD RUB
• 1 tablespoon olive
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• To make the mustard rub, combine olive oil and whole grain mustard in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using your fingers or a brush, work the mustard rub onto both sides of the chicken.
• In a large bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, honey and chicken stock. Add more chicken stock as needed until desired consistency is reached; set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add mustard mixture and sprinkle with rosemary.
• Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.

Cheeseburger Macaroni

Cheeseburger Macaroni
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 (1 oz) packet taco seasoning (or homemade taco seasoning)
1 (10 oz) can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies (or petite diced tomatoes)
2 cups beef broth (or water)
1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked

Directions:
Brown and drain ground beef. Stir in taco seasoning, Rotel, beef broth, and macaroni and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer 12-14 minutes until macaroni is tender.
Now make the cheese sauce:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking for 4-5 minutes until it becomes fragrant and starts to turn a light brown color. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Whisk until smooth and mixture starts to thicken. Remove mixture from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted. Add the salt and pepper to the cheese sauce. Pour the cheese sauce over the hamburger mixture. Stir gently to combine.

This is seriously good