Pizza Egg Rolls

The Recipe

egg roll wrappers

pepperoni, sliced

mozzarella string cheese

marinara or spaghetti sauce

Lay out an egg roll wrapper and place 4-5 pepperoni slices down the middle from corner to corner.  Place a string cheese on top of the pepperoni.  Fold in the corners and then roll the wrapper up.  We baked these at 375 for about 15 minutes, turning once.

Our Review

They weren't bad.  The kids liked them.

Beans and Rice

Recipe

1 Tblsp olive oil

14 oz Kidney beans

one onion, chopped

green pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 cups of rice, cooked

Salt and Pepper

Start cooking the rice in a rice cooker.  Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic and salt and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the kidney beans (drained and rinsed).  Cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the rice is done.

Serve over rice.  Add salt and pepper as needed.

Our Review

The kids liked it.  We all had seconds.  It wasn't amazing, but it was eat-able :)

Savory Mushroom and Herb Steel Cut Oat Risotto

Recipe

5.5c vegetable stock (we used chicken)

2 tbsp butter

1 leek, halfed and sliced thin

1/2 tsp kosher salt (we used pink Himilayan)

12 oz mushrooms (8oz white and 4 oz of interesting kinds)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1tsp fresh thyme leaves (we used ground)

1 tsp ground dried sage

1/4 c dry white wine (we used more broth)

1c steel cut oats

1/4c grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan with a lid, heat stock over medium heat and then reduce to low and keep covered.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add leek and salt, cook 2 minutes stirring often.  Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and sage, cook 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add 1/4c broth and cook 1 minute.

Reduce heat to medium, add oatmeal, cook 1 minute stirring constantly.  Add 2 ladles of hot stock, cook until most of the liquid is absorbed by oats.  Continue adding a scoop of broth, and stirring often until it is absorbed.  It should take about 25 minutes and you can taste the oats to make sure they are tender.

When finished, stir in the cheese and serve.

Our Review

Although the youngest hates mushrooms, he did manage to eat this and actually ate more because he was hungry.  It was fairly good.

Source

Baked Scallops

Recipe

4 tablespoons butter, melted

 1 1/2 pounds bay scallops, rinsed and drained

 1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

 1 teaspoon onion powder

 1 teaspoon garlic powder

 1/2 teaspoon paprika

 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

 3 cloves garlic, minced

 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Pour melted butter into a 2 quart casserole dish. Spread scallops evenly inside the dish. We added some shrimp that we also had available.  Combine the bread crumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, parsley, minced garlic and Parmesan cheese in a bowl and then sprinkle it all over the scallops.

Bake in pre-heated oven until scallops are firm, about 20 minutes.

Our Review

We liked this.  It probably could have had more flavor in the topping, but it wasn't bad.

Source

Chicken Marengo

Recipe

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in 2" pieces

1/4 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 large yellow onion, sliced or chopped

1 can (14oz) Italian tomatoes or diced tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c sliced black olives

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 c white wine

1 c chicken broth

2 tsp sriracha or hot sauce (optional)

Mix flour and salt and pepper in a shallow dish and coat chicken with it.  Heat up the oil in pan and then cook chicken until brown on all sides.  Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add onion to the pan and cook until soft.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add wine and deglaze the pan.  Add tomatoes, broth, seasonings, and olives.  Bring to a boil and then add chicken.  Cook for 15 minutes until cooked through.  

Our Review

This was pretty good and we all enjoyed it.  Served with mashed potatoes.

Source

Slow Cooker Ground Beef Lasagna Soup

Review

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

10 3/4 oz. tomato soup, canned, condensed

14.5 oz. tomatoes, canned, petite diced

15 oz. tomato sauce, canned

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 beef bouillon cubes

4 c. water

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

1 1/2 tsp. basil

1 tsp. parsley

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

8 oz. Ricotta Cheese

8 lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces - UNCOOKED

12 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Combine all ingredients except for ground beef and mozzarella and ricotta cheeses in the crock pot.  

Recipe said to add RAW ground beef over top, however I added cooked ground beef.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours (or high for 4-5 hours).  Half an hour before done, stir in the ricotta cheese.  Serve with the mozzarella cheese on top.

Our Review

This was pretty good.

Source

Tofurky Tacos and Burritos

Recipe

We used two packs of the ground beef Tofurky, heated in a pan with diced onions and added taco seasoning.  That was it.  We added all of the toppings for tacos and burritos and ate.

Our Review

Two guests didn't even know that this was vegetarian and not real ground beef!  The boys ate it and never noticed a difference and everyone ate more than one taco or burrito, so I think it was a success.