Mandy's Lazy Ratatouille

I was roasting some veggies for supper, and they are all what you would use for ratatouille. 

I wanted to add something to these roasted veggies, mainly for the kids.  They love veggies, but not a huge fan of eggplant.  I was trying to think of a way to make it yummy for them!

So, I created...  Mandy's Lazy Ratatouille!  :)

You roast the veggie at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until soft.  Then just add some spaghetti sauce over the top and then some cheese.  Place back in oven til cheese is melted!  See, SUPER easy! :)

I got all but the eggplant at Farmer's Market.  I haven't seen eggplant quite yet there, I expect it to show up soon!  :)

This is what I cut up, I just sliced it up, not too thick or thin.  But it really depends on you, how thick or thin you want it!  :)

1 green zucchini
1 yellow squash/zucchini
1 medium sized eggplant
4-5 green onions
1 box mushrooms (I had gotten baby bellas at FM, it's about the same size as you would get in store)

Placed in a 9x13 pan and pour some garlic infused olive oil over the top, stirred it a bit, then place in oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Again, it's up to you how "crunchy" you want your veggies for this!  And how thick or thin you cut them!

Once they were done, I stirred it again, and just poured some spaghetti sauce over the top and grated some cheese for the top.  Place back in oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serve!

I roasted some green beans and poured some Italian dressing over the top.  That was our supper.  It was enough to feed me and the kids since hubs was away for the night.  If I were to make this again, I would probably add one more green zucchini...

Try it!  Let me know how you like it!
Or if you do anything different!  :)
ENJOY!!!!

Cabbage and Rice

 Saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes...

 Then add the shredded cabbage and sliced carrots....

 Cook til desired doneness...

 Yummy!  I made a sauce to pour over the top...

 Serve on top of rice...  :)

I tried for the whole month of December to do no meat and no milk products for any meals.  I wanted to see how I felt and how the kids were acting by not giving them the meat and milk products.  Ok, they got milk in the morning, but I stayed away completely!  I am pretty proud of myself too!

We don't normally eat a lot of meat anyways, so it wasn't a huge deal, but wanted to omit it completely! 

Yea, December what not the greatest month to do that "diet"!  haha!!  So I am trying to continue that for this month!  :)

This is really easy and very few ingredients, which makes it cheap, but tasty!  :)


Cabbage and Rice

Heat 2 TBSP coconut oil in skillet...  add chopped onions and garlic, stir and cook about 5 minutes.

Add 4 cups finely sliced cabbage and 1/2 cup chopped or sliced carrots.

Stir fry for about 5 minutes or until veggies are your desired doneness.

Add:
1/8 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 t soy sauce
Stir thoroughly until well blended and pour over the cabbage. 
Serve immediately over rice.

Enjoy!  :)

Granola Apple Slices

I like to do snack lunches for my kids.  It's easy, healthy and fast.  :)  I am not sure about you, but I like quick, easy and healthy, and if you can do all three at the same time, SCORE!  :)

Most days I don't eat lunch, so if it's a snack lunch, I'll munch on things as I make it for the kids.  The kids also like to help make their lunches!

I had made some granola this morning, then just put some natural peanut butter on some apple slices, then dipped the apple in the granola!  The kids LOVED this!  A different way to eat an apple and granola!

As you can see, I just added some fruit and the rest of the apple plus some leftover chicken. 

Easy Peasy!  :)

Turkey Wrap with Cucumber

REALLY easy lunch!!! I had some leftover cream cheese spread from Panera. I had asked for one little container of cream cheese, and they gave me this big huge whooping container. I said, I didn't order this, but they said, take it... I'm not sure if they had pity on me when they saw my 4 kiddos or not...? Or if they were really just being nice! ;) I just smiled and said thank you, and walked away with my big huge whooping container of cream cheese, 5 bagels and 4 kids! ;)

Now that I am getting back to the recipe... I know, you really wanted that little story! ;) I used my left over cream cheese, then cut up half a cucumber, stir that up, spread it on a tortilla, (you can use any kind you want, I used white, it's what I had... ;)), then slap a piece of turkey or ham or whatever floats your boat, then roll it up, cut it in half, serve with veggie or fruit and EAT!

I'm thinking pretty much any type of meat you want would work for this. I don't normally buy or have lunch meat on hand, but the kids love Lunchables...

I don't buy lunchables... A few reasons... There is NOT enough food in one to satisfy my kids... I would seriously prob have to get 3 of them to make them even somewhat satisfied... Two: I am not a big fan of processed lunch meat, but I do feed it to my kids, not all the time, but on occasion... Three: they are to stinkin' expensive!

So, we buy lunch meat, and I always have crackers and cheese on hand... so we make our own, and then I had all kinds of other healthy stuff to it, fruit, veggies, you name it...

So, that's why I have meat, In a nut shell, that's why I have lunch meat... ;)

This isn't the most healthiest meals, but there is some veggies in it, so take it for what it's worth! If you are looking for something different and fast and easy, then give this a try! :)

Cream cheese and cut up cucumber

Spread it out on a tortilla

Place a piece of turkey on top

Roll it up, cut in half and enjoy!

Turkey Wrap with Cucumber

4-6 oz cream cheese

half a cucumber, diced, and peeled

4-6 tortillas (I made 8 of these, so it just depends on much cream cheese filling you put in them and how much cream cheese you use...  ;))

turkey slices (one per tortilla)

Make sure the cream cheese is softened, then peel and dice the cucumbers and stir it in the cream cheese. Spread some cream cheese on a tortilla, then place a piece of meat on top.  Roll it up and cut in half and enjoy!

See, easy peasy!  Doesn't get much easier than that!  :)

Try it and let me know how you like it! :D

Homemade Corn Bread

Yes, as in, you mix the flour and the corn meal together and make your own. ;)  You don't open a box of Jiffy Mix...  It's really easy!  REALLY!  The beauty of this, I added some chili powder to it, you can more or less to make it more spicy! 

I made this tonite to go with the chili.  The kids LOVED it and gobbled it down!  It's so easy!  Only a few ingredients!

I bought my corn meal from the Amish store in Indiana.  I just put it in a Ziploc baggie and place in the freezer until I need it.  ;)

Try it and let me know what you think!  Again, you don't "have" to add the chili powder, just a yummy pretence that we all like!  ;)

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl

Mix all dry ingredients together

Pour all wet ingredients in a bowl and mix

Pour wet ingredients into dry... Mix thoroughly

Place in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes until golden brown...

Here they are, nice and hot! :)

Another view

Here it is with the chili, sooo good! The kids broke up some of theirs to put in the chili... ;)

Homemade Corn Bread

1 cup corn meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
not quite 1/2 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon baking powder
1 -2 teaspoons chili powder (more or less to your taste)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/3 vegetable oil
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400.
Combine dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another. Combine the two and mix until just blended. Pour into greased pan. Use and 8 x 8 pan if you like it fairly (2 to 3 inches) thick or 13 x 9 pan if you like it thin. I used a 13 x 9 pan for the loaf pictured here, which produced a 1 inch thick loaf.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove and serve while still warm.

I don't know what it is about nice and warm cornbread! I remember when my mom would make cornbread, I'd eat it pipping hot with butter on top! Yummy!! ;)

See, super easy, not too many ingredients! Give it a try! :)

Butternut Squash Quesadillas

Can we say YUMMY???? This time of year this are PERFECT!

You can get butternut squash pretty cheap, since it's in season right now. You can get it cheaper out here at the farmer's market! I've gotten a squash for a buck, yes, it's a little bit smaller, but it still works for 4-6 of these quesadillas!

You don't have to use this type of cheese, I just wanted to try it. It's a really good mild cheese, not such a huge strong bold flavor! You don't have to add the walnuts either, it's really good without, but I think it just adds a nice crunch and yummy flavor.

These are REALLY easy to make! They are GREAT for lunches, but you could easily do this as a supper too, just add something to go with it! Maybe a side dish of spiced apples! ;)

My kids all ate 2 of these, they LOVED them!

You can also cook a few squash, let them cool, then put any leftovers in the freezer so all you have to do it pop out the already cooked squash. I would heat it a bit to make it warm, sometimes the outside of the quesdailla cooks faster than the inside, so if its still really cold, it may not get hot on the inside. (if that makes any sense? ;))

Here's the quesadilla inside! :) One tortilla, some squash, nuts, and then the cheese... Then place another tortilla on top!

All done and oh soooooo good!!!!!! :)


Butternut Squash Quesadillas

1 whole butternut squash, cooked
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion
1 tablespoon brown sugar
8 (9 to 10 inch) flour or wheat tortillas
8 oz fontina cheese, grated, or thinly sliced
1 cup diced or chopped walnuts or pecans

Dice your onion and place in frying pan with butter and brown sugar.  Cook until caramelized, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Lay 4 tortillas on the counter. Spread the filling on each, 1/3 cup cheese, 1/2 cup squash, sprinkle some onion, then some nuts if desired.  Top off with another 1/3 cup cheese. 

Slide one of the cheese covered tortillas into a frying pan over medium heat.  Place one of the remaining tortillas on top, press down with spatula to get all air pockets out.  Cook until light browned, then flip until the other side is lightly browned.

Place on plate and cut, serve immediately!

Repeat until you are done!  You can easily make more than the 4 here.  I think I've made about 8 at a time!  ;)

I've made it with and without the nuts, but I really like it with the nuts!  I used walnuts because I didn't have any pecans, but pecans would be REALLY good on this as well!

You could also just use a Munster, provolone, or even a mozzarella cheese.  I just wanted to try this cheese, it's really good!  But a bit more expensive than the other 3 I listed!

Try it and let me know what you think!  :)

Carrot, Broccoli & Cheese Orzo

So since I had everything planned out for my menu, minus tonites meal, I needed something. And I needed it fast! ;) It was a day!

I had everything I needed for this as well! I had bought some orzo about a month ago and bought it for another recipe, and didn't use it. ;)

I've never had orzo before and was pretty excited to try it.

And since we are talking about easy, I am labeling all posts that are easy, so you can see which ones are easy to make and fast! ;) I also think I will post a blog of must haves in your pantry/freezer! I am hoping I can, it may take a while! ;)


Place oil (I used coconut oil), carrots, broccoli, onion, garlic, and orzo in pot (I almost used a whole box, 1 pound, of orzo. If you do, just add a little bit more water to it. I also didn't really measure my broccoli and carrots, i did use one whole head of broccoli though. ;))


Saute for a few minutes...


Then add your water. You could also use half chicken stock and half water, it would be really good, but I didn't have any chicken stock/broth, so I just used water! Next time I will use half chicken broth.


Once all the liquid is absorbed, add the Parmesan cheese (you can use fresh, but make sure it's grated...)


This was sooo good! I wish I had some leftovers! ;)



Carrot, Broccoli & Cheese Orzo

1 Garlic Clove
1 Small Onion
1 1/2 Cups Baby Carrots
1 1/2 Cups Broccoli Florets
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter or Olive Oil
2 Cup White or Whole Wheat Orzo
1/2 Tsp Salt
3 1/2 Cups Water
1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Place garlic and onion in food processor and pulse to chop. Add baby carrots and broccoli florets to the food processor and pulse, scraping down the sides half way until finely chopped. In a large stock pot, heat 2 tbsp of butter or olive oil and sauté the chopped vegetables, raw orzo and salt for 4 minutes stirring continuously. Add the water to the pot and cook over medium heat for 10
minutes uncovered, or until the liquid starts to evaporate and the mixture thickens. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Serve and enjoy!!!

*I used my Vitamix to chop everthing! SOOOO easy and fast!! If I didn't have a Vitamix, I would've used my PC food chopper!