This is something I just threw together. Mostly to use up the seasoned parmasean bread cumbs from the baked chicken nuggets we had awhile back.

Chicken Parmasean (sort of)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (would use smaller ones or only three large ones next time)
1/2 C. melted butter
1 C. parmasean bread crumbs
1 jar spagehtti sauce (I used Newman's Own Sockarooni)
1 can tomato sauce (I used this to strech the spaghetti sauce)
6 slices white cheese (we used chihuahua, but mozzarella would be good too)

Cut chicken in large, equal sized chunks (2-4 per breast). Dip chicken chunks in butter and then in bread crumbs. Place in 9x13 glass baking dish and bake at 350 until the chicken is cooked through and the crust is crispy. Pour sauce over chicken and top with cheese slices. Back until sauce is hot and cheese is well melted. Serve over pasta of you choice.

This was good, but nothing spectacular. I would make it again becuase it is easy. If I did not already have the chicken breasts in the freezer I might buy chicken tenders to speed up the process.

We served it over whole wheat feticcini and had a salad on the side.

Yet again this is something we totally made up.

Acorn Squash Florentine

2 Acorn Squash
2 boxes frozen, chopped spinach
1/2 C. pine nuts
8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 C. red onions diced
Nutmeg and cloves to taste

Cut squash in halve and place cut side down on baking sheet/pan (for ease of clean up line baking vessel with foil). Bake at 350 for 45 - 60 min, or until squash is done. In the mean time, thaw squash and squeeze all of the extra moisture out of it (this is very important, the spinach must be very dry). Mix spinach and remaining ingredients well (I used my hands, I think that is easiest). Divide spinach mixture between squash and place back in to 350 oven (uncovered). Bake until filling is warm and melty.

This was very good, but it needs more/different cheese in our opinion. I think next time, I will try goat cheese or a combination of goat cheese and cream cheese. A great vegitarian meal and really easy. We served it with a side salad.

Another recipie from the Cooking for A Cure cookbook.

1/3 C Olive Oil
2 lbs. Lean braising steak, cut into small dice
1 Large onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, chopped
8 oz. Button mushrooms
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and diced
1 Tbsp chopped Fresh Thyme
1 Tbsp chopped Fresh Rosemary
2 Tbsp Seasoned All-Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
2/3 C Beer
14 oz can Chopped Tomatoes
2 Bay Leaves
1 C Beef Stock
1/2 C Pine Nuts
1/3 C Raisins

Preheat slow cooker on High while peparing ingredients. Heat half the oil in a non-stick skillet and fry meat over a medium heat 4 or 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer beef to cooking pot. Heat remaining oil in pan and saute onion, garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper, thyme and rosemary for 5 minutes. Stir in flour, paprika, and cinnamon and cook 1 minute, stirring. Stir in beer, then add tomatoes, bay leaves, and stock and bring to a boil, stirring. Pour over beef in cooking pot and stir to mix. Cover, reduce the temperature to low and cook 7 to 9 hours. Stir in pine nuts and raisins, cover and cook on Low and additional 1 to 2 hours or until beef is cooked and tender.

Slow cooker recipes are always a plus in our book, because we can put it together in the morning, and come home to food that's ready to eat, and an apartment that smells fantastic. This recipe is no exception. In fact, while good, I think it smelled better than it tasted. I thought the beef was overcooked, but Nicole did not. (Of course, i tend to order meat rare... like chase-a-cow-past-a-grill-then-cut-it-up rare) It was not bad by any stretch, but not excellent. With as many recipies as we have, it has to be a little better than this to get many repeats. Also, the rosemary, thyme, and pine nuts make it more expensive than it deserves to be. That might be different if we grew our own herbs (something we're planning on trying to do soon).

Sorry, no picture for today.

This recipie came from a cookbook that was fundraiser for Breast Cancer research sold at our grocery store. Credit goes to Sak Khan for the recipie.

6 oz. Plain yogurt
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
6 oz Coconut Flakes
1 tsp ground almond
1 bunch Cilantro
pinch of Mint
Olive Oil
1 med Onion
1 lb lamb or beef

Blend all ingredients except onion, oil and meat. (This was a bit thick for the blender, so I added some milk. Use middle eastern style yogurt if you can get it, and unsweetend coconut flakes if you can find them.) Pour over meat and marinate for 10-15 minutes. Chop onion and lightly brown in a large pan with olive oil. Add meat and cook until meat is done.

We used beef and served this over brown rice with a salad on the side. It was very, very good. Another keeper recipie. If we can find unsweetened coconut, I think it will be even better. Lots of great flavor in this, without being overwhelming.

Tonight we had salmon pizza. The crust was adapted from a recipie in Vegetarian and Vegetable Cooking.

Crust:

8 oz. Self-Rising flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 oz. Butter
approx 1/2 C. Milk

Toppings

1/4 medium Red Onion
4 cloves roasted garlic
8 oz. Salmon
olive oil
2 Tbsp. Fresh Dill
2 tsp. Dried Taragon
1/2 lb. Mozzarella cheese.

Preheat oven to 425. Stir together flour and salt. Cut in butter. Add milk gradually and combine until dough is of proper consistancy. Roll out on a floured surface fairly thin. Place on hot pizza stone and pre-bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush crust with olive oil. Add toppings and bake for about 12 minutes more.

This probably could have used a bit more dill, but otherwise was very good. The crust had a short-bread consistancy and was just a bit crisply. We served this with steamed asparagus (which I overcooked a bit).