Baked Zucchini Sticks

Ingredients:

2 large zucchini
2 eggs
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of dried basil
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil or wax paper - spray with cooking spray. Cut the zucchini into half lengthwise then into thick spears. Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and seasonings then mix thoroughly. Dip the spears into egg then bread crumbs and Parmesan mixture, making sure to coat evenly. Place on baking sheet and spray the top of each spear with cooking spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes then turn the oven to broil and cook, watching carefully, until they become golden brown 45-60 seconds. Serve with marinara sauce or your favorite salad dressing. Enjoy!

The Results:

These were a perfect side to go with my Bleu Cheese Hamburgers. (That I didn't get a picture of.) It was nice that they weren't fried. They tasted just as good as fried zucchini. We ate the zucchini sticks with homemade ranch dressing and marinara sauce. My little boy ate 5 of these. They were easy to make and went perfect with the hamburger. Recipe is from http://www.fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/. Thanks Pam for the good recipes.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
Filling:

2-3 chicken breasts (cubed)
2 TBS butter
1 small onion (chopped)
2-3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 carrots (chopped)
2 celery sticks (chopped)
3 small red potatoes (boiled and chopped)
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
3/4 cup of milk
salt and pepper

Directions:
Boil the chicken for 20 minutes. Until done and no longer pink. Boil potatoes for 5-7 minutes. Take out and chop. Chop the carrots and celery. In a large pan put in a 2 TBS of butter. Saute carrots and celery until carrots are fork tender. Then add the onions and garlic in. Saute for 2 minutes. After that is all done. Add in the potatoes, corn, peas, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken and milk. Salt and pepper everything to taste.

Pie Crust

Ingredient:

One-Crust Pie (9-inch)
1 cup all purpose or unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
3-4 tablespoons cold water

Two-Crust Pie (9inch)
2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
5 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Directions:
Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface.

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add your filling and then top with the crust. Put a couple knife slits in the top and Bake at 425 for 35 minutes or until golden brown. You can make 9 inch pie pans if you would like.

The Results:
This was Awesome. I made up the filling for the pot pie and I got the pie crust recipe for my Betty Crocker cookbook. This meal was yummy. With the leftover pie dough I did what my mom always did for us. I rolled it out and cut it up in strips and put cinnamon and sugar on it and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes. It was my sons dessert. I made a glaze to go with it out of powdered sugar and milk. So easy and he loved it. I loved this chicken pot pie and will probably be making it again soon. So easy and good.

Green Beans

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
6 bacon strips, diced
1 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place beans in a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside. Saute onion in drippings until tender; remove with a slotted spoon. Drain beans; return to pan. Add onion, 1 tablespoon drippings, salt and pepper; heat through. Crumble the bacon. Add to the beans and toss. Serve immediately.

The Results:

These were so yummy! My mom makes these beans. She usually adds almonds or some other nut to them. I don't care for the almonds in them so I left them out. These were good the next day too. Good side dish.

Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 garlic salt
sprinkle of salt
butter
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Once it is at a boil set the corn in for about 10-15 minutes. When it is done turn it off and cover the corn once you are ready to eat. When you are ready to eat pull the corn out and butter them. Sprinkle with chili powder, garlic salt and salt.

The Results:
I love corn on the cob. It always brings me back to when I was a little girl. I really just added what I wanted to the corn but usually it is salt and butter. The chili powder and garlic salt made it taste really good though.

Buttery Cooked Carrots

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound baby carrots
1/4 cup margarine
1/3 cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Cook carrots in a large pot of boiling water until tender. Drain off most of the liquid, leaving bottom of pan covered with water. Set the carrots aside.
Stir margarine and brown sugar into the water. Simmer and stir until the margarine melts. Return carrots to the pot, and toss to coat. Cover, and let sit for a few minutes to allow flavors to mingle.

The Results:

I got the recipe from allrecipes.com. I've never really liked carrots cooked. For some reason today they tasted really good. I enjoyed the sweet kick to them. I topped the carrots with parsley. I will definitely be snacking on these tomorrow.

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

10 cups of fat-free chicken broth, low sodium ( I would use just regular chicken broth next time.)

( I used a 48 oz box of broth, low sodium and 1 can of broth)

4 red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes ( I used 3 red potatoes)

4 cups onions, quartered ( I used one large onion)

1 cup carrots, sliced 1 inch thick ( I used 3 carrots)

3 cups celery, sliced 1 inch thick ( I used 3 celery stalks)

2 cups zucchini, sliced 1 inch thick ( I used 2 zucchinis)

8 ounces tomato sauce, canned ( I used about 3/4 of the can)

2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3 cloves)

1/4 bunch fresh parsley, chopped ( I used dried parsley)

1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped ( I only used a couple leaves of cilantro)

dash black pepper

dash garlic salt

dash salt

* I added about 8 fresh mushrooms -quartered

Directions:

1. In large stockpot, combine the chicken broth, potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Add the zucchini,tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, and cilantro. Reduce hear to medium-low and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the zucchini is just tender. Season to taste with black pepper and serve.

The Results:

This turned out really good. Topped the soup with parmesan. I served it with grilled cheese because hey I have a 3 year old to feed too. Surprisingly he ate the soup too. Just make sure to season and taste.

* I got this recipe out of our workout cookbook.