Find refreshment for your heart, home and life
Ever have one of those nights when you get home from a busy day of errands or schedule and need supper NOW? That happened to me last week and it turned into a happy situation because I learned that I could make up this Chicken Alfredo from Continue reading “Lightened-Up Chicken Alfredo in Under 30 Minutes”
Lasagna is usually a guilty pleasure. With pasta, cheese and ground beef, what’s not to love?! However, while visiting my parents recently, my mom had clipped a recipe for a Zucchini version that replaces the pasta for this tasty veggie. Wow! It was so good! It was also really easy to put together because it eliminates the one step of boiling pasta!
To get the zucchini ready and to keep it from adding moisture to the luscious tomato sauce, you lay it on paper towels, sprinkle it with salt and let the water drain from it. Then when you layer the casserole together it doesn’t get as watery. It’s a simple process!
If you think you’re going to suffer when eating this you’re wrong! It’s a delicious alternative. I tweaked the recipe my mom had when I made it at my house. I used ground turkey instead of beef, making it even a little more healthy. I also switched out the Ricotta cheese for Low-fat Cottage cheese. We love this dish!
Zucchini Lasagna
Instructions:
Lay zucchini out on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Cover with additional paper towels.
Put olive oil and chopped onion in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute for about 5 minutes until onions are soft.
Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic salt and garlic powder.
Stir everything together and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add herbs when you are done simmering and remove from heat.\
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl combine, egg, Cottage cheese and Parmesan.
Spray a 9×9 (or 8×8) baking pan with cooking spray.
Spread about 1/4 cup sauce on the bottom of your pan.
Layer 1 layer of zucchini across the sauce.
Top zucchini with about 1/3 cottage cheese mixture.
Top ricotta with 1/4 of mozzarella.
Top cheese with more sauce and repeat steps
End with zucchini, sauce then mozzarella.
Cover pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes until cheese is golden.
Remove from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes before eating. Cover pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
I hope you’ll try this healthy but scrumptious version of a family favorite!
With love from my country kitchen,
To continue with my theme of my 10th anniversary of blogging, I thought it would be fun to share highlights of my blog. Let’s start with food!
You don’t have to read my posts for long to know that I love to cook. We love good food made at home and it’s fun to find the best recipes to make for my friends and family. The recipe that has had the most hits on my blog is my recipe for Beef Enchiladas. That is for good reason, friends. This is probably my family’s favorite dish! You can find this recipe here.
Coming in as another sought after recipe is this one for Empanadas. Another beef recipe, this is a great do-ahead recipe that could be frozen prior to baking.
The blog post that has the highest readers was a post near and dear to my own heart. It dealt with how to know if your child is ready to be saved. Many parents struggle to know if their child is too young to trust Christ. Should they make them wait until they’re older? Do they need to know more before they pray? Here was my response to those questions.
Marriage posts are important to me because I know how the devil attacks the home and would love to destroy the union between husband and wife. Simple posts like this one on kindness in marriage shows that it’s really the little things that can make a big difference in a happy relationship.
This post on getting a toddler ready to sit in church must be a hot topic because it was another popular read. We all know that getting a 4 or 5 yea-old to sit quietly in church is like trying to corral kittens! I trust these ideas will help get those kittens to sit for a little while so Mommy and Daddy can hear God’s Word without having to leave the service (as often).
I trust that some of these most popular posts might help inspire you in your kitchen, your home and marriage, or your church service! Come back tomorrow where we’ll get a little more personal. =)
I’ve recently been watching Barefoot Contessa while I’m working in the kitchen. I watch her on You Tube and I love that because there are no commercials! It’s just recipe after wonderful recipe pouring out of her lovely kitchen. She always inspires me to cook!!
I recently saw her make these Salmon Tacos and knew I had to try them. Wow! Are they good! There’s a tangy dill slaw that adds a nice little crunch to the slightly spicy salmon.
When Kroger recently put shrimp on sale, I know we were soon in store for a fast, scrumptious seafood dinner! I went searching for a great recipe to make this meal really special. When I saw the word, honey in the ingredients for this dish, my heart jumped. I absolutely love this special condiment! Lime is also called for in this dish, and its tartness added the perfect balance to the sweet honey. This sauce over the shrimp is perfect. Oh yum, we were not disappointed! Continue reading “Honey-Lime Shrimp”
A favorite summer meal of mine is cooked on the grill, but doesn’t require constant attention, which is great on these hot July days!
These Hobo Packets are easy to assemble and don’t take long to cook. This is another great 30-minute supper! Hobo Packets are simple a foil pouch filled with kielbasa, potatoes, onions and peppers. They are seasoned and then rolled up to cook on the grill. The grill gives everything a great flavor and you’re not heating up the kitchen!
There are a few key instructions to ensure the cook evenly without burning.
You could vary the ingredients in the packets. I’ve added corn on the cob, cut into small pieces, and that is a delicious addition! Get creative and enjoy a great meal cooked in individual portions outside on the grill!
Here are a couple video clips that may help:
Hobo Packets
1 package Turkey Kielbasa, chopped into pieces
2-3 potoates, any variety, sliced into eighths
½ Red Onion
Yellow and red peppers, sliced
Salt, pepper
Olive oil
This will make two hearty portions, or you could use less meat in each packet and make four servings, adding more vegetables.
Spray 2-4 sheets of foil with cooking spray. Layer Kielbasa and vegetables on foil. Add salt and pepper over top, sprinkle with Olive oil. Fold foil over and secure sides. Place on the grill over medium high heat. Turn a quarter turn every ten minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, test the potatoes for doneness.
Open packets onto plates and enjoy!
I served my packets with a cucumber salad, which is also a refreshing summer salad. Here’s how I make it:
Cucumber Salad
Cucumbers, diced into bite-size pieces
Chopped chives or green onions, chopped
Salt & Pepper
Sour Cream
Add cucumbers, chives and salt and pepper. Add enough sour cream to cover cucumbers. The moisture from the cucumber will thin out the sour cream, so start by adding a small amount and add more if needed.
All this meal needs is a patio and a summer breeze! Enjoy!
From my country grill,
Happy Monday, friends!
I have a great recipe to share today! Salmon has become a favorite dinner for us because:
Those are all good reasons to learn to love this fish!! But don’e miss the fact that it’s so good!
Last Sunday I thawed out Salmon filets for our dinner for after church. I added a Honey-Lemon glaze to flavor the fish, then tossed up a dressing with simple ingredients. It Continue reading “Honey-Lemon Glazed Salmon Salad”
