Tuscan chicken pasta

 

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and diced
• 2 cups ditalini pasta or elbows (For a low carb alternative, replace the pasta with cooked cauliflower cut bite-sized)
• 2 cups chicken broth (do NOT add this if cooking on the stovetop! It’s just for cooking the noodles!)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces cream cheese 1 package
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 ounces sun dried tomatoes drained and chopped (I often use a can of drained diced tomatoes instead. It tastes different, but also good.)
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon dried basil
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves

Instructions for Instant Pot

• In the Instant Pot, add the pasta, chicken broth, butter, and chicken.
• Place lid securely on and move the knob to sealing.
• Set on manual, (or pressure cook) for 3 minutes.
• Once timer goes off, allow a natural pressure release for 5 minutes before releasing valve to remove remaining pressure.
• Remove lid and stir the noodles and chicken.
• Turn off manual button and push the saute button
• Stir in the cream cheese, milk, garlic salt, black pepper, basil, and Parmesan cheese.
• Add in the sun dried tomatoes and spinach stirring until spinach is cooked down a bit.
• Serve immediately.
  
  

  ***You can also make this recipe on the stove top! Here’s how:

  • Boil your noodles separate in water or chicken broth.
  • Over medium heat on the stove, add butter! cream cheese! milk, Parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes, garlic salt, black pepper, basil, and chicken.
  • Add in your noodles and spinach until spinach is wilted and everything is well combined.

  
  

  Leftovers freeze well!

Zucchini Taco Casserole

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked quinoa (could substitute white or brown rice)
• 1 pound ground beef
• ½ onion chopped
• 2 zucchini diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 ounce packet taco seasoning
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 avocado diced (optional topping)
• 2 Tablespoons cilantrochopped (optional topping)
• ½ cup sour cream (optional topping)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare quinoa according to package directions.
• In a large skillet, saute beef and onion until beef is cooked through and no longer pink.
• In a large bowl (or in the skillet if it’s big enough), toss together beef, quinoa, zucchini, pepper, beans, salsa, and taco seasoning until seasoning is completely incorporated.
• Dump mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan and top with Mexican blend cheese.
• Bake for 25 minutes covered, or until zucchini and peppers have completely cooked through, and cheese begins to bubble on top.
• Serve with your favorite taco toppings, such as avocado, cilantro, and sour cream.

Zucchini Pizza Casserole

 

Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded zucchini (1 large)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs beaten
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (divided)
• ¼ cup italian bread crumbs (or plain + 1 tsp Italian seasoning)
• ½ cup marinara sauce
• 24 slices pepperoni

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Squeeze excess moisture out of shredded zucchini with paper towels and place in a large mixing bowl.
• Add salt, eggs, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup Mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs. Stir until well combined.
• Press mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
• Spread marinara sauce over zucchini crust.
• Top with remaining Mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, as desired.
• Place back in the oven and bake for 20 more minutes.
• Let cool for a few minutes and serve.
  Serves 4.

Chicken Caesar Salad sandwiches

Combine the following in a bowl:

Shredded cooked chicken

Caesar salad dressing

Ground black pepper

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Fresh parsley

Serve on a roll or croissant with romaine lettuce leaves.

OR serve as a tortilla wrap or in a pita.

OR for a low carb option, serve as a lettuce wrap.

Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (can also use Italian sausage)
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 12 ounces bow tie pasta
• 2 cups beef broth
• 26 ounces spaghetti sauce
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¾ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (optional topping)
• Fresh Chopped basil (optional topping)

Instructions

• Press the SAUTE button and when it has heated up, add ground beef, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Cook until ground beef is no longer pink
• Drain grease if desired.
• Dump uncooked bow tie pasta on top of meat and spread evenly.
• Pour beef broth on top of the pasta, covering as much (if not all) of the pasta as possible.
• Pour the spaghetti sauce on top of the pasta. Do not mix – just leave as is.
• Place lid on top of Instant Pot and turn valve to SEALING (not venting).
• Press MANUAL (or PRESSURE COOK) and set timer for 4 minutes.
• Once it's done cooking, do a QUICK RELEASE of the pressure (if foam and bubbles start spewing out, move the valve back to venting and wait a minute or two for some of the pressure to die down before opening the valve back up).
• Remove the lid
• Stir in the sour cream and mozzarella cheese and mix until sour cream and cheese are completely melted and smooth.
• Dish and serve topped with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Creamy ground beef and macaroni tomato soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion diced
• 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 26 ounces spaghetti sauce
• 14 ounces diced tomatoesdrained
• 4 ounces cream cheeseroom temperature
• 1/4 cup fresh basil roughly chopped, divided
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni or regular elbow macaroni

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef and onion and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Add in garlic and cook for a minute more.
• Add salt, pepper and oregano to the beef and stir to combine.
• Pour in chicken stock, spaghetti sauce, and diced tomatoes, then bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Whisk in the cream cheese until it is completely mixed in and then add 1/2 of the fresh basil.
• Pour in the pasta, stir and let cook for another 10 minutes with the lid on or until the pasta is tender.
• Spoon into bowls and garnish with the leftover basil.

Crockpot breakfast casserole

Layer the following in a greased crockpot:

Frozen hash browns 

Chopped onions and/or peppers (fresh or frozen)

Cooked ham, bacon, and/or sausage

Shredded cheese

Cajun seasoning or seasoning salt

Next:

Beat eggs and pour over top of layers.

Cook on low at least 6 hours.

In a 6 qt. Crockpot, you can layer 3x and use 36 eggs to feed ~25 people.

Cajun Chicken Pasta (Chili’s copycat recipe)

 

• Cook 16 oz penne pasta according to directions on the box. Drain pasta and set aside. (Note: this did not work well subbing cauliflower for the pasta.)
• Place 2 chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag and sprinkle in 4 t. cajun seasoning.  Reseal bag and shake thoroughly until chicken is evenly coated. 
• In a large skillet, saute chicken breasts over medium heat in 2 Tablespoons of butter, turning occasionally until cooked through. 
• While the chicken is cooking, in another skillet whisk together 1 tablespoon of flour with 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat to create a roux.
• After the butter and flour have mixed together, combine 3 cups of half and half, 1/2 t. lemon pepper, 1 t. salt, 1 t. pepper, and 1/4 t. garlic powder and continue cooking it over medium heat, stirring it occasionally.
• Remove from heat when cream mixture starts to bubble. 
• Pour cream sauce over cooked noodles. Slice chicken breasts into strips. 
• Serve pasta on serving plates.
• Top with chicken breast strips, and sprinkle on 2 diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

Corn, black bean, salsa chicken soup

This is similar to Chicken Taco Soup, but I like this one best. Also works as a freezer meal. Definitely double it!

Ingredients

• 15 ounces black beans 1 can, drained and rinsed
• 14 ounces corn 1 can. drained
• ½ cup salsa
• 1 ounce taco seasoning packet
• ⅓ cup water
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Instructions

• If making this into a freezer meal, label a gallon-sized resealable freezer bag with the title of the recipe and how to long to cook in the slow cooker. (If you aren't making it into a freezer meal, jump ahead to step #5).
• Dump the black beans, corn, salsa, taco seasoning, and water in the resealable bag and mix until all the ingredients are combined. Add the chicken breasts and zip the bag closed. Place in the freezer until ready to use (it will last in the freezer for up to 90 days).
• When ready to cook, remove bag from freezer and place in fridge overnight so that it can thaw. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and dump bag ingredients into the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-7 hours (until chicken is completely done).
• Shred meat and serve however you want (in tacos, burritos, nachos, salads, etc). Garnish with cheese, sour cream, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and hot sauce.
• If you aren't making this into a freezer meal, dump black beans, corn, taco seasoning, and water in crock pot and mix together until seasoning is dissolved. Place chicken breasts on top and spread salsa on chicken. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken and serve however you want (in tacos, burritos, nachos, salads, etc). Garnish with cheese, sour cream, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and hot sauce.

Notes

You can also skip the freezing step of this recipe and dump all ingredients directly into your slow cooker, then cook on high for 4-5 hours (or low for 6-7 hours).You can cook this recipe ahead of time, wait for it to cool, and then put it in the freezer for a quick and healthy dinner when you don’t have time to cook. Either option of freezing works great.

Optional garnish toppings:

• shredded cheese
• sour cream
• avocado (diced)
• lettuce (shredded)
• tomatoes (diced)
• hot sauce

Sheet Pan Italian Pork Chops and Veggies

 

These veggies were so tasty! You could probably use any veggies you want, and they would be equally good.

Ingredients

• 5 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1 ounce package Italian dressing mix
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 Tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 6 4-6 ounce pork chops
• 1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes halved
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, mix together olive oil, dressing mix packet, paprika, oregano, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
• Dip each pork chop in the oil mixture, making sure to coat both sides, and place on the prepared pan. Repeat with remaining pork chops.
• Add the potatoes and carrots to the sheet pan and drizzle any remaining olive oil mixture on top. Toss lightly to mix together.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes or until pork chops are full cooked.
• Garnish with parsley and serve.

Notes

• For this recipe, I used boneless pork chops that were about 3/4″ thick, so if yours are thicker or thinner than this, you will want to vary your cooking time.