Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:
*cooking spray
*2 lb. frozen brussel sprouts, completely thawed, and DRY
*olive oil
*salt to taste
*ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with sides with cooking spray.

2.  Place DRY brussel sprouts in a gallon sized Zip Lock bag.  Pour in just enough olive oil to lightly coat them--about 2 Tablespoons or so.  Close the bag, letting out all the air.  Use your fingers on the outside of the bag to move the olive oil all around so that all the brussel sprouts are lightly coated.

3.  Pour the brussel sprouts onto the baking sheet in one layer.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir.  Season the other sides with salt and pepper.

4.  Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes.  We like it when they get brown.  We eat them even browner than this.

Crock Pot Fancy Mac & Cheese

This is from Pinterest.  My husband loved this.

Ingredients:
*water to boil pasta
*1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
*cooking spray
*1 1/2 cups milk
*12 oz. can skim evaporated milk (This ingredient keeps the eggs and milk from curdling)
*1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temperature
*3 eggs
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1 1/2 cups grated fontina cheese
*1 1/2 cups shredded Kraft Italian blend cheese
*fresh ground black pepper
*1/2 cup Parmesan
*2 Tablespoons olive oil
*1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:
1.  Par boil the pasta:  Put water in a pot, following the amount of water stated on the package directions.  Bring to a boil.  Add pasta.  Cook for ONLY 5 minutes.  It will not be cooked completely.  Drain.  Immediately rinse with cold water to prevent sticking.  Don't worry...it will not cool down your pasta.

2.  Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray, including the sides.  Pour in the milk, evaporated milk, eggs, room temperature melted butter (make sure it's not hot because if it is, it will scramble the eggs), and salt.  Whisk until smooth.

3.  Add the fontina cheese and Italain blend cheese.  Add the pasta.  Sprinkle with black pepper.  Gently stir with a spatula to coat evenly.  Sprinkle the Parmesan on top.

4.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to LOW and cook for 2 1/2 hours, untl custard is set in the center and pasta is tender.  It can sit on the KEEP WARM setting for up to 30 minutes before serving.

5.  Just before serving, heat a small saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil.  Once hot, saute the breadcrumbs (using more or less to get the desired consistency) until golden brown.  Sprinkle over the top of the mac & cheese.

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

Another adapted recipe from Pinterest. I let mine get a tad too brown.  It wasn't pretty and bright green, but they tasted delicious.  I got my son to eat this too.  He'll eat anything if it has Parmesan cheese all over it.

Ingredients:
*cooking spray
*1 lb. fresh green beans, ends snapped off.  Make sure they are completely dry.
* 1 Tablespoon olive oil
*pinch of kosher salt
*fresh ground black pepper to taste
*1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
*3 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2.  Place the dry green beans in a gallon size Zip Lock bag.  Pour in the olive oil.  Close the bag, letting out all the air.  Using your fingers on the outside of the bag, move the green beans all around so that they all get lightly coated with the olive oil.  Open the bag and dump in the kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.  Close the bag again like before and move the green beans all around so that the seasonings are evenly distributed.
 
3.  Spread the green beans out on the baking sheet so that none overlap.  Roast for 10 minutes in the oven.

4.  Remove from the oven.  Shake the pan so that the green beans turn.  Return back to the oven for 5 minutes.

5.  Remove from oven.  Top with Parmesan.

Roasted Tomatoes with Basil and Parmesan

It's always hard to find a side dish to go with Italian dishes, other than a green salad.  I get tired of that.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and adapted it a tad.  The family loved it.

Ingredients:
*olive oil flavored cooking spray
*4 tomatoes, sliced to 1/4 inch slices
*1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
*1/4 cup provolone cheese, shredded
*3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
*1 teaspoon dried oregano
*1/2 tsp salt
*ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with the olive oil flavored cooking spray.  Place tomatoes on the baking sheet.

2.  Top each tomato slice evenly with Provolone, then basil, Parmesan, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Spray the top of each tomato slice with the olive oil cooking spray.

3.  Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender.

Hominy Casserole

This is a recipe from the Taste of Home website.

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:
*cooking spray
*1 yellow onion, chopped
*1 Tablespoon canola oil
*1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
*3/4 cup light sour cream
*3/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese, divided
*1/4 cup milk
*1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chiles, drained
*1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
*3 cans (15 oz. each) golden hominy, drained

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees  Spray a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.

2.  Heat a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the canola oil.  Saute onion for a few minutes until tender.  Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, combine the onion mixture, sour cream, half of the cheese, milk, chiles, and cumin.  Stir in hominy.

4.  Pour into the baking dish.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until heated through.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake 5-10 more minutes.

Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash

This is my adapted version of the Pioneer Woman's recipe.  I use way less rosemary and less brown sugar.

Ingredients:
*2 acorn squash, cut into 8 wedges each
*4 dashes olive oil
*salt to taste
*1 stick butter, room temperature
*1/4 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
*1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed (I use a mortar and pestle)

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place wedges in a baking dish and drizzle with the dashes of olive oil.  Sprinkle lightly with salt to season.  Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

2.  In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, rosemary, and salt to taste.  Mix into a paste.

3.  Remove the squash from the oven.  Smear the paste over the squash wedges.  Put back into the oven for 15 minutes.  By this time the paste should now be a sauce.  Brush the sauce over the squash.  Roast for 15 more minutes or until brown and caramelized.

Garlic & Savory Herb Spicy Vegetable Saute

Ingredients:
*2 large yellow squash, diced
*2 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
*1/2 yellow onion, sliced into strips
*1/2 red onion, sliced into strips
*2 Tablespoons olive oil
*1 packet Lipton Soup Garlic & Savory Herb (1 box has 2 packets)
*1/2 can (14.5 oz. can) diced tomatoes, drained
*salt to taste
*ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Place the squash, jalapenos, yellow onion, and red onion in a gallon sized Zip Lock bag.  Pour in the olive oil.  Close the bag, letting out all the air.  Using your fingers on the outside of the bag, move around the vegetables so that they are all lightly coated in olive oil. Pour in the Garlic & Savory Herb.  Close the bag and use your fingers on the outside to make sure all the veggies get coated with the seasoning.

2.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil.  Once hot add the vegetables from the Zip Lock bag.  Stir in the tomatoes.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Saute for a couple of minutes.  Reduce heat to medium.  Continue sauteing until the squash is tender.

Roasted Honey Balsamic Carrots

This is one of my go-to recipes for a vegetable side dish.  It's super easy.

Ingredients:
* 3 - 4 lb. baby carrots
* 2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus some for lightly coating
* salt
* fresh ground black pepper
* 2 Tablespoons honey
* 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place carrots in a gallon size zip lock bag.  Pour just enough olive oil in to coat the carrots very lightly--you will just need a tad.  Close the zip lock bag and let all the air out.  Move the carrots around in the bag using your fingers on the outside of the bag so that all the carrots will get coated.

Pour the carrots onto a baking sheet, getting them into as much of a single layer as possible.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to season.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in pourable measuring cup, whisk together the 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, honey, and balsamic vinegar.

At the end of the 20 minutes of roasting, remove the carrots from the oven.  Give the honey mixture one more whisk.  Pour over the carrots.  Stir the carrots so that they are all coated with the mixture.  Arrange into a single layer again.  Roast in the oven for 20 more minutes.  We like a little brown on them, but if you don't then roast them a little less.

French Onion Soup

This recipe is from Melissa d'Arabian from the Food Network, whom I admire.  It was no surprise that we ended up loving the flavor profile, but it was no where near soupy enough for our liking...so much so that I wouldn't consider it a "soup".  I also changed how I did the bread.  Below are my adjustments.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
*2 Tablespoons butter
*1 3/4 lb. yellow onions (about 4 onions), thinly sliced with the grain to hold their shape
*Kosher salt
*black pepper
*1 teaspoon flour
*1 cup dry red wine or red cooking wine
*1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
*1 bay leaf
*2 teaspoons lemon juice
*4 cups beef broth
*4 cups chicken broth
*1/2 cup shredded Swiss or Provolone cheese
*1 Tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese
*a baguette (use 4 slices, 1 inch thick and then cubed)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Add the onions.  Sprinkle with salt.  Cover, and cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until deeply caramelized, stirring every so often.

Meanwhile, place baguette cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Place in a 500 degree oven for just a few minutes until the bread starts to get crispy.  Watch it carefully.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

Increase the heat on the stove to medium and sprinkle with flour.  Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.  Deglaze the pan with red wine.  Add the thyme, bay leaf, lemon juice, beef broth, and chicken broth.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Equally distribute the baguette cubes on the bottom of each ramikin. 

Ladle the soup into the ramekins.  Heat the oven to broil.  Mix the Swiss or Provolone with the Parmesan cheese in a small bowl.  Evenly distribute the cheese on top of the soup on each ramikin.  Broil just until cheese is bubbly and browning, about 1 minute.

Broccoli with Cheese

This is how my mom made broccoli with cheese when I was growing up.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
*2 lb. frozen broccoli florets
*8 oz. 2% Velveeta
*1/8 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Prepare broccoli according to the microwave directions on the package.  Drain really well.  Or use a steamer to steam the broccoli.  Place broccoli on a plate lined with paper towel to remove extra moisture. This is an important step.  The cheese sauce will be too thin if you skip this step!

Dice Velveeta.  Place in a medium microwave safe bowl with the milk.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Melt in the microwave for 5 minutes on power level 6.  Stir well.  Microwave more if needed.

Place half of the broccoli in a large baking dish.  Pour half of the cheese on top.  Put the rest of the broccoli on top.  Pour the rest of the cheese on top.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Quick and easy, healthy and delicious.  My kind of recipe.

Ingredients:
*2 bunches asparagus
*olive oil
*salt
*black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Rinse the asparagus and pat really dry with paper towels.  The water will make the asparagus limp, which is not good.  Pick up one asparagus, holding it by the ends with each hand.  Bend the asparagus until it snaps naturally.  Discard the bottom part that snapped off.  Line the top of the snapped asparagus up with the rest of the asparagus on a cutting board.  Use that piece as a template and cut off the other ends of the asparagus.  Discard the bottoms.

Place the asparagus in a gallon-size zip lock bag.  Pour in some olive oil--just enough to barely coat the asparagus.   Close the bag and shake around so that all the asparagus gets lightly coated.  Add more if needed.

Dump the asparagus out on a large baking sheet.  Spread the asparagus out so that they are in a single layer.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for 12 minutes.  The asparagus will be cooked but still have a crispness to it.  Yum.

Garlic and White Wine Sauted Asparagus

Makes 2-4 servings

Ingredients:
*1 bunch asparagus
*2 Tablespoons butter
*salt
*black pepper
*3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
*white wine

Directions:

Rinse the asparagus and pat dry with paper towels.  Take one asparagus and holding it by the ends with each hand, bend the asparagus until in breaks naturally.  Throw the bottom part away.  Line the top of the snapped piece of asparagus up with the rest of the tops of the other asparagus.  Use the snapped asparagus as a template to cut off the rest of the ends of the other asparagus.  Discard ends.

Heat a skillet on medium heat.  Add the butter until melted.  Add the asparagus to the pan and season with salt and pepper.  Saute for a few minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for one minute.  Add a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan.  Saute until the alcohol cooks out--a couple of minutes.

Oven Roasted Potatoes

This recipe is on the back of the Lipton Onion Soup box.  Easy breezy.

Makes 8 - 10 servings

Ingredients:
*cooking spray
*4 medium baking potatoes, cut into chunks (skins on)
*1/3 cup olive oil
*1 packet Lipton onion soup mix (each box has 2 packets--only use 1)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.   Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Place potatoes in the baking dish.  Pour olive oil over potatoes and stir until all potatoes are well coated.  Pour onion soup mix over potatoes and stir until all are coated.

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes.

Asian Coleslaw

This is my husband's co-worker, Shelly's, recipe.  It's a great side dish for Asian entrees as well as BBQ entrees.  It's a great thing to bring to a pot luck dinner.

Ingredients:
*1 lb. shredded cabbage coleslaw mix
*1 package (3 oz.) chicken Raman noodles
*1/2 cup sunflower seeds
*1/2 cup sliced almonds
*4 green onions, chopped
*1/2 cup olive oil
*3 Tablespoons white vinegar
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*2 Tablespoons sugar
*1/2 teaspoon black pepper
*1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Place sunflower seeds and almonds on a cookie sheet.  Toast for a few minutes.  Take out as soon as you smell them.  Set aside to cool.

Crush Raman noodles.  Set aside the seasoning packet for later.  In a large bowl, combine cabbage, Raman noodles, toasted sunflower seeds and almonds, and green onions.

In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, and seasoning packet from the Raman noodles.  Whisk together well.

Immediately poor dressing over salad.  Toss to coat.  Chill until ready to serve.  When ready to serve, stir well beforehand.

Sweet Potatoes

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
*4 sweet potatoes
*margarine to taste
*3 Tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place potatoes on a metal baking dish.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven.  Lower oven temperature to 250 degrees.

Slice potatoes longways down the middle.  Scoop out the insides of the potatoes and place in a bowl.  Discard the skins.  Stir in brown sugar.  Add margarine to taste.  Place back into the oven on 250 for 15 minutes.

Four Vegetable Slaw

This is a recipe from Rachel Ray.  It originally calls for cucumbers to make it "Five Vegetable Slaw", but everyone in my family hates cucumbers, so I took them out and called it "Four Vegetable Slaw".

Ingredients:
*1 package (1 lb.) shredded cabbage (I bought "coleslaw mix" that had shredded cabbage, carrots, and purple cabbage)
*1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
*1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
*4 green onions, sliced
*2 limes, juiced (equal to 4 Tablespoons lime juice)
*1/4 cup honey
*3 Tablespoons canola oil
*salt
*black pepper

Directions:
Combine vegetables in a bowl.  In another bowl, prepare dressing by whisking together the lime juice, honey, and canola oil.  Pour dressing over vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Herb-Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables

I found this recipe on the kraft foods website.  I used eggplant, zucchini, carrots, asparagus, and onion.  Next time, I will leave out the eggplant and use different colored bell peppers instead.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
*8 cups assorted vegetables, chopped (asparagus, zucchini, carrots, onion, different colored bell peppers)
*2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
*1/4 cup olive oil
*2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
*1 teaspoon salt
*1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all ingredients, except for the Parmesan, in a large bowl.  Mix well to coat all the vegetables.  Put in a large baking dish.  Bake on 375 for 40 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Mexican Corn Casserole

This is my mom's recipe.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

*1 small onion, chopped
*3 Tablespoons margarine
*2 cans cream style corn
*1 package (6 oz.) Mexican corn bread mix
*1 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese
*1 egg, slightly beaten
*cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Saute onion in margarine in a skillet over medium heat until tender.  Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together corn, cheese, and egg.  Stir in corn bread mix and onions.  Make sure the onions are not hot so that the egg does not cook.  Mix well. 

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.  Pour corn mixture into the baking dish.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes uncovered.*

*Note:  When it is done, the consistency will be that of corn casserole, not of corn bread.

Cheesy Potatoes

This is a spin off of my mom's cheesy potatoes.  A couple of the ingredients are no longer made, so I played with the recipe until I got it just right.  This dish is one of my absolute favorites.

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:
* 5 lb. bag Russet potatoes, washed, peeled, and sliced into rounds then halved
*salt
*black pepper
*Pats of margarine + 3 Tablespoons, divided
*1 small yellow onion, chopped
*1 small green bell pepper, chopped
*4 oz. jar of pimentos, drained
*1/2 cup skim milk
*1 package (8 oz.) 2% Velveeta, cubed
*1 package (8 oz.) Mexican Velveeta, cubed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place potato slices in a 11" x 13" baking dish.  Salt and pepper to season.  Liberally dab margarine pats all over the top of the potatoes.  Cover with foil.  Bake for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, saute onion, bell pepper, and pimentos in the 3 Tbs. of margarine over medium heat until tender.  Set aside.

About 10 minutes before the hour is done for the potatoes baking, combine the cheeses with the milk in a microwavable bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap tightly.  Microwave in 4 minute increments on power level 4, stirring in between, until cheese is melted.

Remove potatoes from the oven.  Discard foil.  Spread onion mixture evenly over the top of the potatoes.  Pour cheese on top evenly.

Bake uncovered for 10-15 more minutes until the bubbly.

Oregano Zucchini and Squash

This recipe is from Taste of Home's Comfort Food Diet Cookbook.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
*2 Tablespoons olive oil
*2 summer squash, sliced in circles (all slices need to be the same thickness)
*2 zucchini, sliced in circles (all slices need to be same thickness as squash)
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 teaspoon oregano
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Once hot, add the oil.  Add the squash.  Saute for 4 minutes.  Add zucchini, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Saute until veggies are tender.