Quick and Healthy

I keep on hand a stock of prepared sauces (I get mine from Trader Joes, but I have seen others at Shop N Save) that I make when I have to get a meal on the table fast.

Quick meals-Emily Gibb
1 jar simmer sauce
1 small onion, diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 package frozen spinach
Rice
Plain yogurt, for garnish

Start your rice, whether on the stove top or in a rice cooker. Saute the onion in a little olive oil until it is starting to get clear. Add the simmer sauce and chickpeas and spinach. Simmer on low until rice is done. Serve on top of rice with a dollop of yogurt.

*You can add in anything that you have on hand that your family would like. When I have a little more time on my hands I may add chicken or tofu

Baked Quinoa With Spinach and Cheese-Emily Gibb

This is an easy gratin, a comforting casserole that you can serve as a main dish or a side.
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1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 plump garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cooked quinoa, (1 cup uncooked)
2 large eggs
3 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)
1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish.
2. Heat a medium frying pan or a wide saucepan over medium-high heat. Wash the spinach and without spinning dry, add to the pan and wilt in the liquid left on the leaves after washing. You may have to do this in 2 batches. As soon as the spinach wilts, remove from the heat and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry and chop. Set aside.
3. Wipe the pan dry and heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in it over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir with the onion until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
4. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the quinoa, the onion and spinach mixture, the Gruyère, and the sage. Add freshly ground pepper and stir the mixture together. Scrape into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake until nicely browned on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for about 5 minutes, and serve.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Advance preparation: The cooked quinoa will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. The recipe can be made through Step 3 several hours or even a day ahead. The gratin can be assembled several hours ahead.
Just a few side notes about the dish:

I am more than happy to pick up some quinoa for you if you can't find any at Shop n Save, but I think you could easily substitute couscous and it would be ok. You would probably lose some of the nutty and slightly crunchy texture, but it would work. Also, it calls for fresh spinach, but this last time I used some defrosted frozen spinach and just squeezed as much water out as I could and completely skipped step 2 of the recipe. Using fresh spinach gave it more texture the first time, but it also takes more time to prepare. Lastly, the recipe calls for Gruyere cheese, which I read is similar to swiss, so I just used swiss since it is more readily available and less expensive.

Here are some recipe sites that I really like:
recipezaar.com
prudencepennywise.blogspot.com
crockpot365.blogspot.com

“Goo Losh”-Lucenda Usher

1 cup cooked rice
3 cups cooked macaroni
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
(Lucenda used 1 ½ cup Ragu instead of tomato sauce and paste)
3 strips cooked bacon, broken into small pieces
½ lb. hamburger

Combine all ingredients while warm and serve.

Speedy Bread- Lucenda Usher

6 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp yeast, dissolved in 3 cups warm water

Mix together and knead for 5 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Shape into 2 loaves and place in loaf pans. Let rise about 15 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Slice, add garlic butter and cheese. Warm in oven until cheese is melted.


Salmon Patties--Sheila Moen

1 Can of Salmon (drained)
2 Eggs
1 small onion diced
2 handfuls of crackers crushed

Mix all of the ingredients and mold into patties, using small amount of oil on skillet, grill them on both sides.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie- Jamie Hoskins

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of potato soup
1 9 oz. pkg. frozen mixed veggies, thawed
1 cup cubed cooked chicken
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup Bisquick

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9" pie plate, mix soups, veggies and meat. In a bowl, combine Bisquick, egg and milk. Pour over meat and veggies. Bake for 30 mins. ( I put a cookie sheet underneath in case it leaks out.)

Skillet Lasagna-Malinda Williams

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
2 garlic clov3es, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
6 oz curly-edged lasagna noodles (8 noodles), broken into 2-inch pieces
*NOT no boil noodles
1 (26 oz) jar tomato sauce, such as marinara (about 3 cups)
2 cups water
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
(*mince the garlic and measure out the pasta while the meat cooks)

1. Cook meat in 12*inch nonstick skillet over hight heat, breaking it into pieces with wooden spoon, until fat renders, 3-5 min. drain meat and return it to skillet.
2. stir in garlic, pepper flakes, and 1\2 tsp salt and cook over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Sprinkle broken noodles into skillet, then pour in tomato sauce and water over top. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until noodles are tender, about 20 min.
4. Off heat, stir in half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Season with salf and pepper. Dot heaping Tbs of rivotta over noodles, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and let stand off heat until cheeses melt, 5min.
5. Sprinkle with basil before serving.

Beef and sour cream noodles- Wendee Bacon

2 cups egg noodles cooked ( 3cups uncooked)
1lb ground beef
8oz can tomato sauce
½ tsp garlic salt
1-2 cups sour cream depends on your taste
1 cup shredded sharp chesses

Brown beef , salt, pepper, and garlic salt
Boil noodles
Mix beef and tomato sauce together
Mix noodles and sour cream together
In 9x9 dish layer the beef and then noodles top with cheese
Bake at 350 for 20- 25 minutes

Fettuccine Alfredo –Leigh Christensen

1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons flour
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 package (8 ounces) fettuccine

Cook fettuccine in boiling water for 11-12 minutes until al dente (or according to box instructions). While pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce:

In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat until foaming. Whisk in the flour until the mixture is smooth and golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, half-and-half, garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Discard garlic, stir in cheese and remove from heat.

When pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta. Return sauce to low heat, add 1/3 cup of pasta water and the cooked pasta then toss until evenly coated. Cook until the sauce has slightly thickened, about 1 minute, adding water as needed to reach the desired consistency. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings, each 320 calories and 12 grams fat (6 grams saturated). Delicious topped with grilled chicken.

Pasta Primavera- Abbie Hafen

3 carrots, peeled 1 tablespoon dried italian herbs
2 medium or 1 large zucchini 2 tsp salt
2 yellow summer squash 2 tsp pepper
1 yellow bell pepper 1 lb pasta (bowtie or whatever you have)
1 red bell pepper 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 onion, thinly sliced 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 olive oil

preheat oven to 450 degrees. cut the carrots, zucchini, squash, and bell peppers into thin 2-inch-long strips. On a large, heavy baking sheet, toss the veggies, onion, oil, hearbs and 2 tsp each of salt and pepper to coat. transfer half of the veggies to another baking sheet, and arrange the veggies evenly over both sheets. bake, stirring after the first 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the other veggies begin to brown about 20 minutes.

meanwhile, cook pasta, drain reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the cooked veggies to combine. add the cherry tomatoes and enough of the reserved cooking liquied to mosten. seaon the pasta with more salt and pepper to taste. dish up and sprinkle with cheese!!

Pasta, Peas and Pesto- Amy Larson

1 lb. medium pasta shapes
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup prepared pesto (I usually use it from a jar I get at Trader Joe's or make it myself if I'm feeling really ambitious)
1 (10 ounce package) frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
juice of one lemon
heaping 1/3 cup mayonnaise or whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shaved or grated
1 and 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted

Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Toss with olive oil and cool to room temperature. In the bowl of a blender or food processor, combine reserved cooking liquid, pesto, spinach, lemon juice, and yogurt/mayonnaise. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with cheese. Sprinkle with pine nuts, if desired.