Cabbage Roll Casserole

Wow!  I have been quite the slacker lately.  At least when it comes to blogging.  I have been super busy working on some other projects, so blogging, and even cooking/baking, have been on the back burner.  No pun intended.  The drought has hit especially hard in trying new main dishes.  But fortunately, I did carve out some late recently to try out this yummy cabbage roll casserole.

I have never had a cabbage roll, but the idea of it, and pictures of it, seemed pretty good.  Then I started seeing recipes on Pinterest for cabbage roll casserole.  They were described as being similar to cabbage rolls, but without the work of rolling.  Bingo!  I love anything that involves less work, especially these days!

Chili Macaroni

We have had an inexplicable bout of cool weather lately.  Yesterday (July 29th!) our high temperature was 68 degrees.  It has been unbelievable and totally awesome!  I have to remind myself that it isn't fall and we are going to see 90 degrees again this week.

Since it's not actually fall, it's not really chili season.  This is the season where I like something I can throw together quickly, and stove top recipes fit the bill.  But thanks to this chili macaroni recipe, I can enjoy the flavors of chili (tomatoes, beans, spices, oh my!) without waiting for hours, and without a ending up with a hot bowl of soup.  Chili, meet summer.  I think you guys are going to like each other!

Spicy Thai Beef

I have a culinary confession to make.  I honestly don't know much about Asian food.  We have a Chinese buffet in my little hometown, but we almost never went there when I was growing up.  It had a less than stellar reputation.  I'm talking about rumors of cats in freezers kind of reputation.  We would occasionally have Chinese food when we went out of town and my dad would pick where we ate.  And I never thought I liked Chinese food until I tried Panda Express, which I imagine is about as authentic Chinese as a Big Mac.  But who doesn't love that sweet and sticky orange chicken?

I didn't have Thai food until college, and I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have had it since.  Because of my lack of experience with Asian cuisine, I couldn't really tell Chinese food from Thai food from Vietnamese food from my elbow.  My understanding of Thai food is that it is spicy and it often has a peanut sauce.  That's it.  With that being said, I can't really tell you if this spicy Thai beef dish is actually good Thai food.  But I can tell you that it is good food!  It is easy and delicious with a little kick of spice and a little tang thanks to lime juice and ginger.  

Quinoa with Chickpeas & Tomatoes

Have you tried quinoa yet?  If you haven't, you should.  It is amazing stuff.  It is a whole grain, so it's got the  fiber thing going for it.  But unlike most other grains, it is also a complete protein (which means that it contains all of the essential amino acids our bodies need but can't produce).  

So it's really a nutrition powerhouse.  As an added bonus, it is tasty and easy to prepare.  If you have been interested in trying quinoa, but aren't sure what to do with it, you're in luck because I've got a perfect quinoa-for-beginners recipe right here.

Easy Beef Stir-Fry

We have had a reasonable summer thus far.  Until this week.  Hello, hot and humid.  I haven't missed you.  That means that my oven is officially out of commission.  I just can't make myself turn it on when my poor air conditioner is working its tail off just to keep it under 80 degrees in this old house.  So stove-top recipes are my friend right now.  

One of my favorite oven-free dinners is stir-fry.  It is fast, easy, and packed with yummy flavors.  I also love that you just need to add some brown rice and a side of fruit, and you have a great, healthy, well balanced meal in no time.  If you use instant brown rice, you can have this meal ready in about 15 minutes.  Yeah, I like that.

Honey BBQ Meatloaf

 Have you ever met a man who didn't like meatloaf?  I haven't.  I'm pretty sure such a specimen doesn't exist.  Stay tuned for a great recipe that will get you major brownie points with that special man in your life!  

Meatloaf is also one of the first dishes I made for my husband back when we were dating and I had my first apartment.  I was delighted at how great he thought such a simple meal was.  It made me feel like I was some kind of kitchen hero.  But at the same time, I felt guilty taking so much credit for something that took about 5 minutes to put together.  You see, for almost all of my life, I have made meatloaf from a seasoning packet.  And it has been good.  I have seen other recipes for meatloaf from scratch, but I figured that if it wasn't broken, there was no need to fix it.  

Then I came across this recipe for honey BBQ meatloaf.  It sounded delicious and didn't look like it would take much more time than my dirty-little-secret meatloaf.  My meatloaf wasn't broken, but it was about to get a whole lot better.  It kind of reminds me of the people with straight teeth on the Invisalign commercials.  What's that about??

Cheesy Tator Tot Casserole

Some things never get old.  Like Dolly Parton and tator tot casserole.  Who didn't get excited as a kid to find out that  tator tot casserole was on the dinner menu?  It's just a classic.  I bought a bag of tator tots a while ago because they were on sale, and I can't resist a good sale.  I decided that it would be way more awesome to make tator tot casserole than to just have plain old tator tots.

Unfortunately, I hadn't made tator tot casserole in years.  And by years, I mean not since my college days with my old roomie Stefanie.  Stefanie made a mean tator tot casserole (and her and her husband just had their first baby two days ago, so congratulations!!!).  I remembered the basics of tator tot casserole.  It is pretty simple, after all.  But I wasn't feeling overly confident in my ability to recreate Stefanie's yummy version which I had loved so much.  

So I went to my old-school cookbooks thinking that somewhere in those pages of good old comfort food and casserole recipes I was bound to find at least one tried-and-true tator tot casserole recipe.  I was wrong.  In all my cookbooks, I didn't have one tator tot casserole recipe.  I guess all those church ladies and farmer's wives assumed that anyone with a brain in their skull and an oven in their kitchen just knew how to make tator tot casserole.  The good news is that thanks to a little invention called the internet, I knew I could scrounge up a tasty recipe in no time.  So I got to searching.

BBQ Beef Pie

Because of my serious recipe addiction, I have a habit of making "one and done" recipes.  I have so many things I want to try that I frequently make things one time only, no matter how great they turn out.  And then it's on to the next new thing!  Not so with this recipe.  I have several times already since I discovered this amazing recipe!

Every other recipe can wait.  This is too good.  I'm talking about ground beef, cheese, and sauteed onion smothered in BBQ sauce and baked in a pie crust.  (Please excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.)  This is the kind of food that you eat and think, "I could eat this the rest of my life."  Those who really know me know that I love any excuse to eat BBQ sauce.  So this dish is right up my alley.  And my husband would probably eat roadkill if I served it on pie crust.  So it's right up his alley as well.  To say the least, we're both kind of into this recipe.

White Castle Slider Wannabes

March Madness is upon us.  It's yet another opportunity to gather 'round the couch with your friends and drink a few cold ones while eating junk, all in the name of sports.  I love America!  And what is more American than a cheeseburger?

While "bigger is better" is typically the American mindset, sliders have managed to find a nice, miniature, spot in our hearts.  And why not?  They're a fun change up from a standard burger, they can be eaten one handed, and you can eat multiple of them guilt-free.  Plus, they make great party food because your guests can enjoy a cheeseburger without filling up, allowing them to enjoy the rest of the delicious food you have worked so hard to prepare.  And one of the best things about this slider recipe is that these particular mini-burgers are the easiest burgers I have ever made!

St. Louis-Style Cheese Pizza (with no-yeast crust!)

Just when I start getting the hang of this yeast thing, I start coming up with all these yeast-less recipes.  I guess I am finding myself attracted to these type of recipes because I no longer have all day to sit around and watch yeast rise.  Most days.  I still like me some good yeast action on a weekend, snow day, or just random day off work.  

I already have a fantastic recipe for pizza crust that is easy and delicious.  But I was instantly intrigued when I saw this recipe in Cook's Country for a yeast-free pizza crust.  I loved the idea of being able to make my own delicious pizza at home on a whim.  Pizza whims happen to me quite frequently.  

Beef & Broccoli

 I have been holding on to this recipe for far too long.  So today is the day I share it with the world.  I have some yummy sugary treats on the back burner as well (not literally speaking, of course) but I thought with millions of Americans trying to stick to that ubiquitous New Year's resolution to eat healthier, I would save those for March, when everyone gives up.  Well, everyone but you.  I know you all will stick with it because you have read my post on "How to Stick to Your New Year's Resolution."  On a side note, I thought I would be all fancy and look up some statistics on how many people actually resolve to eat healthier or lose weight.  I didn't.  So I'm going with "millions."  That sounds about right.

Anyway, back to our main topic of interest, beef and broccoli.  I love it.  I never seem to think about making my own Chinese food.  I just head to the only Chinese restaurant in our town, which is a buffet.  And because it is a buffet, I eat too much and leave feeling miserable.  Yes, it happens to me too.  But one fateful day, I decided to try my hand at making my own beef and broccoli.  I found a recipe, whipped it up, and enjoyed!  This recipe is really easy to make, and it is absolutely delicious.  By delicious, I mean that I licked the bowl clean.  And I usually only do that with cookie dough or cake batter, so that's saying something!  

BBQ Meatballs

Today I am sharing a true oldie but goodie--BBQ meatballs.  Nothing fancy here.  Just good old-fashioned home-cooking like grandma used to make.  I got this recipe from a college roommate.  Shout out to you Stefanie!  We ate a lot of convenience food back in the day, if we even bothered to have full meals.  But Sunday nights we actually got together and made ourselves real food.  These meatballs were Stef's specialty.  And when she got married and moved out, I made sure to get the recipe from her.

This is one of those recipes that circulates around a small town through just about every church and business cookbook.  Who knows where it started!  These savory little balls of beef are baked with a generous amount of a sweet and smoky BBQ sauce.  This is one of my favorite main dishes and it is really simple, so I thought it was time for it to make its way to the rest of the world via the internet.

Summer Squash Pizza

I can be so inappropriate.  Seasonally inappropriate, that is!  In all other aspects of life, I am a perfect angel. And if you believe that, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona.  All jokes aside, yes, I posted pumpkin recipes this Spring, and I am now, in mid-October, posting a summer squash recipe.  Guilty!  But let's just go with it!

If you are someone who has already consumed an entire bumper crop of summer squash, and you feel you might gag if you see another one, fight back the urge and hang in there!  If nothing else, you are going to want this recipe for next summer.  Poor summer squash is always the bridesmaid, and never the bride.  Until now!  Summer squash's day has finally arrived as the star in one of my all-time favorite foods--pizza!

Easy Macaroni & Cheese

Until last winter, I had never made macaroni and cheese from scratch.  I have always loved boxed macaroni and cheese.  And when I say I love boxed macaroni and cheese, I mean that I could probably eat it every day.  That's how much I love boxed macaroni and cheese.  And not only is it scrumptious, it takes almost not time to make, and it is cheap!  So why would I bother to take the time to make macaroni and cheese from scratch?  

Well, after seeing several awesome looking recipes online, curiosity finally got the best of me and I gave homemade macaroni a shot.  I guess it was just another step in my journey to start making real food!  The first two macaroni recipes I made were both makeover recipes.  And they are both quite tasty, if I don't say so myself.  But unlike my secret ingredient baked mac & cheese and my stovetop guacamole mac & cheese, the stand out feature of my latest elbow pasta adventure is simplicity.  Macaroni and cheese from scratch is fairly easy, but making it usually involves preparing a cheese sauce, and therefore is a little more time consuming then stirring a package of space cheese into cooked noodles, milk, and butter.  But hold onto your hats, folks.  I am about to introduce you to a homemade macaroni and cheese recipe that doesn't require making a cheese sauce!

Makeover Monday: Stovetop Guacamole Mac & Cheese

This isn't my first makeover mac & cheese recipe.  Back in February I shared my recipe for secret ingredient baked mac & cheese, which substituted pumpkin for part of the cheese sauce.  I have made this sneaky dish several times, and it has been quickly devoured each time.  But now it's time for something a little more seasonally appropriate.  As much as I love mac & cheese, I'm not about to turn on the oven just to make a batch when it's 100 degrees outside.  Stovetop recipes to the rescue! 

Avocados are in season right now, which means they are on sale.  I really try, but I just can't keep myself from buying them by the bagful.  They are just so good!  And while I love guacamole and tortillas chips, after a while I was ready to try something else with my avocadoes.  Then I remembered that I had saved this recipe for stovetop guacamole mac & cheese.  This recipe uses guacamole for part of its creaminess, and a pepperjack cheese sauce for the rest.  And it is easily prepared on the stove.  It was the solution to all my problems!

Inside Out BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger

I swear I can smell a burger grilling from a mile away.  The aroma of succulent ground beef cooking on the grill on a summer day is intoxicating.  And nothing tops off a delicious burger quite like bacon, cheese, and BBQ sauce.  I think the BBQ bacon cheeseburger is one of America's crowning achievements.  It's right up there with Super Bowl Sunday and the internet.  You're welcome, world.

But what if the BBQ, bacon, and cheese weren't on top of the burger, but inside it?  Well, then you would have what I like to call an inside out BBQ bacon cheeseburger.  And you would be in meat heaven.  I am pretty sure the seed for this was planted long ago by seeing something similar on the internet.  But a while back I was planning to make burgers.  I considered making regular BBQ bacon cheeseburgers, but, honestly, I am too lazy to cook up bacon to put on top of my burger.  So I decided to just put Bacon Bits in my burgers while I was forming the patties.  And I thought while I was at it, I might as well put the cheese in the burger.  And the BBQ sauce.  And some spices.  Before I knew it, I had this amazing concoction on the grill.  And you could definitely smell this from a mile away!

Makeover Monday: Reduced Fat Sausage Manicotti

I think I have mentioned before that my experience with cooking Italian food doesn't extend much further than boiling spaghetti noodles and opening a jar of spaghetti sauce.  I do at least brown my own hamburger!   Since I grew up in a German family in a town without an Italian restaurant, I didn't have much exposure to Italian cuisine until I went off to college.  Now Italian is one of my favorite foods!  I specifically remember the excitement of manicotti night at the dorm dining center.  Who wouldn't love pasta stuffed with cheese and covered with marinara sauce?  

Fortunately, it wasn't served too often.  There's no fighting off the dreaded freshman 15 when you are stuffing your face with pasta, sausage, and four kinds of cheese!  Sadly, my manicotti days ended with my dorm days.  It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I attempted to recreate this college favorite at home.  And it really only happened because I had some ricotta cheese, sausage, and spaghetti sauce to get rid of.  I could have made lasagna, but I decided to try something new.  Once I had decided to take a shot at sausage manicotti, I hopped on the internet and quickly found several versions.  As I like to do, I basically took what I liked from the various recipes I found and made it my own.  And in typical Foodie RD fashion, I had to make it lower in fat!  After all, my metabolism isn't 18 anymore!

Makeover Monday: Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Brown Rice

Add Chinese food to the list of things I didn't like as a kid, and now can't get enough of. In case you're keeping track at home, that list now includes chocolate and beans as well. I think Chinese food was one of those things I just decided one day I didn't like and I refused to eat it. I went many, many years without trying it. That changed in college when I experienced the food nirvana that is Panda Express. I don't even remember the first time I gave Chinese food another chance, but I'm so glad I did.

Unfortunately, I don't make Chinese food at home very often. I have no good explanation for this. It just doesn't happen a lot. Tragic, I know!  But the excuse I'm going to use today is that when I get Chinese food, I get chicken.  And most of the recipes I have for Chinese chicken are fried. I'm not a food saint, but food just doesn't get fried in my house. A few weeks ago I remembered that I had a recipe for sweet and sour sauce scribbled in a cookbook and I decided it was time to try it out. But I wasn't going to put it on pieces of fried chicken. So I took a shot at pan-frying some chicken pieces and adding this sauce to make my own healthier version of sweet and sour chicken.  And I'm happy to report that it turned out even better than I had hoped!

Double Bean Mexican Lasagna

Tomorrow is Good Friday, which means it is the last meatless Friday for my fellow Catholics and me.  I've been sharing vegetarian and seafood recipes all during Lent, and I figured it was about time to pass along one of my favorite meatless meals, double bean Mexican lasagna.  I got this recipe from a coworker several years ago.  She had cut it out of a newspaper (I think it was the Topeka Capital Journal) and thought us dietitians might like it.  She was right!  This is a great vegetarian meal that I love to make year-round.

Calling this a lasagna is using the term loosely.  This dish is similar to a traditional lasagna in that it is layered, but it uses layers of corn tortillas instead of noodles. In between the layers of corn tortillas is a hearty bean and sauteed vegetable mixture, and a generous helping of melted Mexican blend cheese.  It has a bit of a kick to it, but isn't overly spicy.  The mixture of vegetables, including onion, green peppers, and tomatoes is nice and colorful so it's easy on the eyes, and the taste buds.  Oh, and did I mention it has lots of melted cheese?

Oven-Baked Bass

I loved going fishing when I was a kid.  In the summers, my dad would take us kids with him when he went to check the cows and we fished in the little ponds in the pastures.  But we never caught fish big enough to eat.  One weekend every summer we went camping at a bigger pond a few counties away with some family friends.  A bigger pond meant bigger fish, and we did eat some of those "keepers".  But I was always too busy swimming to be involved in the cooking of those fish.  Ah, simpler times!

I hadn't been fishing in years until recently when a neighbor took my husband and me fishing.  To my surprise, we actually caught some pretty good bass.  (I should note that by "we" I mean my husband and my neighbor.  I caught baby fish!)  Our neighbor was nice enough to clean a few fish for us so I got to try my hand at baking fresh-caught fish.  From what I recall about the fish preparation of our camping days, it involved dredging cleaned fillets in a cracker mixture and deep fat frying.  That wasn't going to happen in my kitchen!  So I did a quick internet search and came up with a bunch of non-fried bass recipes.  I chose a simple recipe that included olive oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, minced garlic and an oven.  It sounded like a winning combination to me!