Baked Fettuccine

• 12 oz fettuccine
• 3/4 lb Italian sausage
• 4 large carrots, diced
• 4 large celery stalks, diced
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cook fettuccine in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain. Coat bottom of empty pot with a little olive oil. Return the past to the pot and stir to coat it evenly with the oil. Remove from heat and keep warm.
3. Cook sausage over medium-high heat until well browned. Drain sausage in a bowl lined with paper towels.
4. Put carrots, celery, and onion in a large skillet and add water to just cover them. Boil until the carrots and celery are soft, testing with a fork. Drain vegetable in a colander. Saute veggies in a little olive oil until they're lightly browned and have lost most of their moisture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Mix egg into pasta and stir
6. Add Parmesan to pasta and stir well
7. Add sausage and veggies to pasta and mix thoroughly
8. Line 9x13 pan with aluminum foil, using enough extra so it and be folded over double. Spray foil with non-stick spray.
9. Pour the fettuccine mixture into the fold and spread evenly.
Wrap the foil over the top of pasta and seal, so that mixture is completely enclosed with foil, in the baking dish.
10. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Unwrap foil from top of dish and invert onto serving platter. Remove rest of foil.
11. Slice to serve

Changes I made: I used a little over a pound of sausage. I used a little less than 1 1/2 cups of cheese. 2 eggs and WAAAAY less than 1/2 a cup. Probably closer to 3 Tbsp of olive oil. I also left the pasta in the foil to serve and didn't cut it up to serve and it worked just fine. Both of my boys loved it and had 3 bowls full. The 4 year old even asked to eat it for breakfast, but I made him wait until lunch! It takes a few pots and pans but it was well worth it! It is more of a traditional Italian pasta and it not saucy or very cheesy at all but very tasty!

Tomato-Herbed Pork Chops

• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 6 pork chops each 3/4 inch thick (or about 2 lbs of chops)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) tomato soup
• 1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup water

1. Combine flour and thyme on plate. Lightly coat chops with flour mixture.
2. In a 10-inch skill over medium-high heat, in hot oil, cook half of the chops 10 minutes or until browned on both sides. Remove; set aside. Repeat with remaining chops. Pour off fat.
3. In same skillet, combine soup onion and water. Heat to boiling. Return chops to skillet. Reduce heat to low. Cover; cook 10 minutes or until chops are no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Serve with rice.

Lemon Dill Salmon with Red Potatoes

• 1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 pound salmon fillet
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill or 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 1/2 cups fresh pea pods, trimmed
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Place the potatoes in a large skillet, add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Lay salmon fillet on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle with the apple juice and dill.
2. Simmer on low, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fish flakes with a fork. Add the peas, cover and simmer for an additional 2 to 4 minutes, or until tender. Remove the skin from the salmon and break the fish into bite size chunks.
3. Mix the lemon juice and cornstarch, then carefully stir into the salmon mixture. In crease the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Season with salt if desired.

*Changes I made: I used frozen pea pods that I had thawed and I used salmon portions that were already skinned (Costco has great salmon!)

Chicken Parmasean

We enjoyed our homemade version of Chicken Parmasean. This was so good and so easy!

In a 9x13" pan place some diced onion and a few pats of butter, place pan in oven as it is preheating to 350*
Pull out of oven when butter melts.
4 chicken breasts cut in half and pounded to 1/4" thickness.
2 eggs cracked in a bowl and whisked
About 1-1/2 cups of Italian style bread crumbs in a bowl
Dip your chicken in egg, turn to coat
Place in crumb mixture, turn to coat.
Place in the 9x13" pan on top of butter and oven
Cook 30 min. Or until chicken is cooked completely and chicken is a little crispy.
You can put some of your spaghetti sauce over the chicken with a slice of cheese over each chicken piece or because most of my family doesn't like cheese, go with out it.
Serve with your family favorite noodles, (we use whole wheat) and spaghetti sauce.
We also serve a yummy veggie on the side. Enjoy!

Southwestern Stuffed Potatoes

Just printed off the recipe tonight and had it for dinner. SOOO GOOD! I did my dinner a little different then the recipe {See bottom for my modifications}

What you need:
3 medium potatoes
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp fat free milk
1/2 cup Sour Cream, fat free
1/2 cup Chili Peppers, green, diced , canned (optional)
15 1/4 oz Corn, whole kernel, canned , drained
4 scallions , chopped
1 cup low fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pinch paprika (for garnish)

What you do:
1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wash the potatoes well and dry thoroughly, and place the potatoes directly on the oven rack. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until soft when squeezed.
2 Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, and cut each baked potato in half lengthwise. Next scoop out the inside leaving a thin shell. In a mixer, mash the potato flesh with the margarine, skim milk, and sour cream, mixing well.
3 Stir in the green chilies, corn, green onions, and cheese, combining well, and spoon the mixture into the shells, and top with the paprika, and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are heated, and serve.

{I left out the corn and chili peppers, not as many green onions on mine and added a little more cheese at the end on the top-ha, we are cheese lovers!!} I'm also putting this under healthy food because this is a carb safe meal for a diabetic.

Jalupas

For Monday night we used our leftover chilli that was in the freezer for a quick meal! (I love it when that happens)
We made what our family calls JALUPAS ( I don't know where the name came from)
Jalupas:
Fritos
Chilli
Shreded cheese
Sour cream
Lettuce
Tomatoes or salsa
Olives
Avacado
Layer these ingredients that are all optional any way on your plate. Eat up, Yum!