Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

I LOVE vegetarian cooking. I always have. We've been doing a little bit more of it here and it has been delightful. Although, Lucy hasn't cared for it that much... even though she doesn't really like meat I think she's less fond of all those fresh veggies that she's been seeing on her plate lately. She's always good to try a bite or two, but she lets us know when she's ready for "Mac n' Cheese" or "Chicken Nuggets." (Don't worry we never give in). 

This is one recipe that I've already made twice and I love it. I love the fresh lemon flavor, I love the zucchini, I just love it. It also makes great leftovers. And I do make it with the whole wheat noodles. They taste really good as well. Please try this one. It will be worth your time. 

Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon- Yogurt Sauce

(The name alone is a mouthful. Click the picture to go to original site of recipe)

8 oz of whole wheat spaghetti pasta

1/2 cup of plain non-fat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tsp grated lemon zest

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil (or less)

3 medium zucchinis cut into thin strips

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes cut lengthwise

1. Cook pasta according to directions

2. While pasta is cooking make your sauce in a seperate bowl by mixing together yogurt, lemon, cheese, and salt and pepper.

3. Saute zucchini in olive oil until starting to become translucent, add garlic saute until zucchini is translucent. Add tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes, remove from burner. 

4. Add sauce and noodles and stir until well incorporated. 

Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Pancakes (Fat free)

I'm on a fat-free, low sugar diet right now because of a recent surgery and I made these tonight. I really liked them. Naturally not as good as James' pancakes that everybody else ate around me, but these were just as satisfying to me. The original recipe doesn't call for any sugar. I couldn't imagine eating them with out a little bit of sugar in them so I will add that to my recipe below.


Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Pancakes

1/2 cup Oatmeal
1/2 cup cottage cheese (I used fat free)
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg whites
1 Tbsp sugar

Blend it all in a blender until everything is well mixed.
Cook like regular pancakes on a skillet. This recipe makes two medium sized pancakes.
Be creative and top with whatever you like. (I topped with low sugar fruit preserves).

Simply Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

I don't really like the name for this recipe... I think it's miss leading, but I will respect the author's choice of names and add it here that way as well. Click the picture to see the original recipe site. I will include the changes I made to the recipe here.
I love enchiladas. Green ones, red ones, beef ones, chicken ones, cheese ones,... it doesn't matter.. I love them. So I'm always looking for new enchilada recipes. I tried these ones the other night and I loved them. I had to cut out a lot of the fat in mine, but they were still delicious even with the changes. My family ate them, and loved them. Even the kids. So it's a winner.

Simply Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

1 lb chicken breast
1 med onion chopped
1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil and about half a Tbsp)
8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups monteray jack cheese (or any cheese really)
1/4 cup butter (again, I half-ed the butter)
1/4 cup flour (you don't need quite this much if you are using less butter)
1 can chicken broth
1 cup sour cream (I used fat free sour cream)
1 (4 oz) can green chilies
I added some green salsa that I had to the chicken mixture. I think it added a lot. I will add salsa (whatever kind I have in the fridge) in the future

1. In a frypan, cook chicken and onion together in oil over medium-high heat until chicken is just done. (This is where I threw in some salsa to add some flavor. Just about a half a cup.
2. Divide cooked chicken evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 Tbsp cheese to each tortilla.
3. Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in 9X13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.
4. Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in flour to make a roux; stir and cook until bubbly; gradually whisk in chicken broth then bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
5. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and green chilies; pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
6. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges is bubbly

Savory Honey Mustard Pork Chops or Yummy!

I am tired of all our regular recipes so I have been trying new stuff like crazy. Some have failed, but there have been a few recipes, like this one, that we will add to our most favorite list. Best of all this is a really easy recipe with very little prep time involved.  Serve up with some potatoes and steamed greens, and you got yourself a beautiful dinner. (I'm still dreaming about these pork chops... they are so good!)

Savory Honey Mustard Pork Chops

1 1/4 cup of chicken stock

4 pork chops

1 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Coop pork chops in butter in large skillet about 6 minutes per side or until no longer pink in center. Combine stock, mustard, honey and cornstarch; stir to dissolve cornstarch. Add to skillet and cook until thickened. 

Kool-Aid Play Dough

One of James' classmate shared this recipe with me. WE LOVE IT!! The Kool-Aid adds such a bright color that won't stick to your hands plus it makes the play dough scented. It is also edible, even though it is disgusting, it is safe to eat.

Kool-Aid Play Dough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 small package of unsweetened Kool-Aid
3 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup boiling water

1. Boil Water
2. Mix dry ingredients
3. Add oil and water
4. Mix together with wood spoon until it reaches a play dough like consistency.
5. When cool enough to touch, knead together.

My Favorite Taco Soup

I've been meaning to post this recipe for ages. I love soup! That's not a secret. I love Taco Soup and this recipe has such a great flavor, it's the one I use all the time. This recipe is adapted from The Food Nanny's Cookbook. There are just a few changes that I've made to it and it really is the best. Warning: This recipe makes a lot. Either for a big family or a small family with company, this soup can feed the masses for cheap!

My Favorite Taco Soup

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cans red kidney beans, drained (Personally, I like one can kidney and one can pinto)
2 cans corn (not drained)
1 2.5 oz can sliced olives (not drained)
2 cans diced tomatoes (not drained)
1 can beef broth
1 small can tomato sauce (optional)

Top with cheese, sour cream, and chips

1. Brown ground beef with chopped onion and green pepper. Drain fat if needed. Add all other ingredients and cook on medium heat until soup is hot and flavors all blended. (You can also put it all in a crock pot and let it cook on low for 5-6 hours)

Lessons learned while making this cake!

I once took a cake decorating class. I loved it because, I got to decorate cakes. I did not make the cakes. I did not make the frosting. I got to explore my creative side with colors and piping tools and my canvas was the cake. When I finished my cake decorating class, I made one cake. I actually bought the frosting for the cake from a bakery,... and the cakes. I like to bake. And I like to decorate cakes. Putting those two processes together has always been overwhelming to me. So I gave all my cake decorating supplies to my sister in law and washed my hands of the idea.
Mel came into my life and inspired me to be creative again. She asked me to make this cake for her son's first birthday. (I won't show the original that I was trying to copy... It's too embarrassing.) I was excited to try cake decorating again. I was also excited to finally overcome my fear of butter cream frosting. And this is what I learned in the process. And I did learn all of these lessons the HARD way.
1. It takes 30 minutes to bake a cake in two 6X2 inch cake pans. (8 inch is the smallest it goes on the instructions on the box.
2. You can NOT use regular food coloring to die white chocolate. It doesn't work. You have to buy a special kind that is oil based not water based.
3. When following a recipe for butter cream frosting, the couple of tablespoons of milk it says to add are not suggestions. You should actually add them.
4. When using gel food coloring (with frosting not chocolate) a little goes a long way.
5. Piping frosting onto a cake that doesn't have enough liquid, doesn't stick very well, and is a lot of work.
With those lessons learned, I am more prepared to make the same cake next week. I will update on the progress I make. It should be a much simpler and smooth process.