Low(er) Fat Baked Mac n' Cheese

You need:
1/2 finely diced white onion
1 tbspn minced garlic
1 generous handful of spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup roasted red pepper strips, coarsely chopped
1 small handful of sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
3/4 cup low fat sour cream
1/2 cup non fat or low fat milk
2 cups (8 oz) grated cheese- (i used a bag of reduced fat cheddar) you can use all cheddar or your favorite cheese or a combination whatever you have on hand
4 cups elbow noodles cooked (8oz uncooked)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
pinch of salt, pepper, and paprika

Directions:
1. Boil and drain pasta according to directions on box.
2. Sauté onion and garlic in a small amount of butter. Add the spinach, red peppers, and mushrooms and continue to sauté over medium/low heat, until leaves are wilted (about 5 minutes).
3. In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, and shredded cheese in a bowl. Mix thoroughly.
4. Add sauteed veggies to the cheese mix, and mix together. Add the noodles and place into a casserole dish.
5. Sprinkle paprika over top of casserole (about 1-2 tsp), and then cover lightly with bread-crumbs.
6. Cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes (or 45 if you make this the night before like I did).

Potato Side Dish

You need:
-Several medium sized potatoes, enough to fill a casserole dish when sliced
-1 cup white wine
-1 squeeze of Italian blend herbs from the tube (about a 2 inch squeeze)
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 tablespoon minced garlic
-Roughly 8 shakes of "Season All" or just salt and pepper
-Parmesan cheese (1-2 handfuls)

Directions:
1. Slice potatoes and arrange in a greased casserole dish.
2. Mix the next 5 ingredients together in a jar (put the lid on and shake)
3. Pour dressing mixture over potatoes - If there isn't enough sauce to cover the potatoes, make another batch and pour again.
4. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
5. Cover in foil and bake at 350 for 1.5 hours.

Mexican Style Chicken Casserole

I N G R E D I E N T S :

1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 spoonful chopped garlic
Vegetable cooking spray or olive oil
2 cups chopped and cooked chicken breasts (I got a rotisserie chicken and used the meat from it, no skin)
1 (10-oz) can cream of onion soup
1 (10-oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 small container fat free sour cream
1 (10-oz) can diced tomato and green chiles (rotel or generic brand, mild or medium)
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 bag chili-cheese flavored Fritos
1 (8-oz) bag shredded cheddar cheese

D I R E C T I O N S :

Saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper in a large skillet coated with cooking spray or olive oil over medium-high heat 5 minutes, or until tender.

Stir in chicken and next 7 ingredients; remove from heat.

Layer Fritos on the bottom of a 13x9-inch (or 2 8x8-inch) baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with half of the chicken mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.

Pork Chops and onions in a white wine sace

This turned out really well and i served it with the hashbrown casserole (recipe below). I got this from my sister's blog, YUM

You need:
-4 pork chops (about an inch thick)
-1 onion
-3 tbspn butter
-flour, salt, pepper
-3/4 cup white wine
-1 tbspn soy sauce

Directions:
1. Sautee the onions and butter in a skillet, remove. In the same skillet, brown the chops on both sides.
2. Place chops in a small baking pan. dust with flour, salt, and pepper then top with onions.
3. mix together the wine and soy sauce, and pour over onions and pork chops.
4. Bake at 350 for 1.5 hours

Grilled Vegetables with herb dressing and feta

1 eggplant

1 red pepper

1 zucchini

1 squash

1 container feta cheese

1 lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup Gourmet Garden brand "Italian Seasoning Herb Blend" (this product comes in a tube, and is found in the gorcery store with the fresh herbs)

For Dressing:

 In a jar, combine olive oil, the juice of one whole lemon, and the herb blend. shake until blended together.

Directions:

1.Grill all vegetables. Set aside until cool enough to handle and chop into bite sized pieces. 

2. Toss vegetables in with the herb dressing, and fold in feta cheese.

Pasta Salad w/ Red Pepper, Feta, and Olives

You need:

1 lb rotini pasta noodles

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

1 jar sliced roasted red peppers, chopped

1 container feta cheese

1 lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup Gourmet Garden brand "Italian Seasoning Herb Blend" (this product comes in a tube, and is found in the gorcery store with the fresh herbs)

1. Cook rotini according to directions, drain, set aside (wait until noodles are cool to add other ingredients)

2. In a jar, combine olive oil, the juice of one whole lemon, and the herb blend. shake until blended together.

3. Toss olives, red peppers, and herb dressing in with the noodles. 

4. Fold in the feta cheese last (turns out better to add cheese right before serving)

My Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

This is what i add to regular spaghetti sauce to make it taste better.

You will need:

1 onion

1 green bell pepper

3-4 cloves garlic

1 packet Good Seasons brand Italian dressing mix

1 lb lean ground beef

1 large size jar regular pasta sauce

Directions:

1. Sautee onion, pepper, and garlic in olive oil and Italian dressing mix

2. Add beef and cook until browned

3. Add entire jar of pasta sauce, simmer 10 minutes.