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!  :)

Four Bean Chili

Wow!  This was so good!  The seasoning was PERFECT!  The only bad thing, I didn't measure exactly how much I put in!  I KNOW what I put in, just not the amounts!  It really is also up to the person how much of something you like, less spicy, more spicy... 

I soaked 4 different beans last nite.  I just put it all in one pot, then cooked it.  SUPER easy!  It also makes it WAY cheaper! I got all the other ingredients (canned tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes) and then the green pepper was from the Farmer's Market.  I think I figured the whole crock pot of soup cost me right about $5, and I have leftover to use for tomorrow nites supper!  If I made enough I may be able to do ONE more meal!  Are you kidding me?  Atleast TWO suppers for a family of 6, for $5!  How COOL is that? 

I didn't measure out the beans, I just kinda guessed about how much I would need.  (In the recipe, I gave you exact amounts for using cans of beans)  I took black, white, kidney and pinto beans.  Just dumped them in a pot and covered with water overnight. Brought them to a boil and then dropped down to a simmer for 2 hours.  While they were cooking, I cooked my onions in olive oil, and then added the garlic once the onions were almost caramelized.  Dump those in the crock pot with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and a can of tomato soup.  I added a can of tomato paste and added some cans of water. 

Once my beans were done, I added them to my crock pot.  Let it simmer on low for the rest of the day!  Boy did it smell GOOOOOD when we got home from SPEAR, that was at 3:!5, I still had to wait a little over 2 hours to eat supper!  :(

I then mixed up some homemade corn bread, which I already posted the recipe. 

What a yummy fall meal if I do say so myself!  And cheap to boot!  ;)  I like cheap AND good!  :)

Let me know if you try this, or if you have any questions!  :)

 Up close of this delicious soup!!!  :D

I couldn't wait to try the first bite, I'm not lying, the seasoning was absolutely PERFECT!!!  :)

This was my Gramma's bowl...  I used it ALL the time when I was at her house, she used it ALL the time too!  I remember one time we got into a little "fight" over who was going to use it!  haha!!  ;)

Here it is with the corn bread that I made!  :)  Very good filling meal!  BONUS, we have leftovers for tomorrow nites meal!  Can't wait!  Baked potatoes with this yummy chili on top, then sour cream and cheese, yummy!!!  ;oP








Four Bean Chili

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Lb Lean Ground Beef
1-15 Oz Can White Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1-28 Oz Can Chopped Tomatoes with Juice
2-15 Oz Cans Tomato Sauce
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tsp Salt


Saute the onion in the olive oil until it's just beginning to caramelize.  Then add the garlic, more or less to your taste!  ;)
Place everything in the crock pot and turn on low for 8 hours. 
Serve with corn bread.  Or you could add some sour cream, cheese, chives to this as well...  But since I am going to serve this on a baked potato, I'll use those toppings for that!  ;)

Pizza Wheels

These were a HIT and so good! They weren't really hard to make, and the bonus, you don't have to wait to let your dough rise! :) I am always a bit unsure of making a dough that doesn't need to rise for my pizza, it just never turns out right, the dough seems too heavy. But this stuff was PERFECT!!! I doubled the recipe, but think for next time, I will have to triple it! ;)



You can still make whatever flavors you want! I did a ham and cheese, a ham, cheese and mushroom, and then I did a spinach and cheese, oh, and I did a cheese one by itself. They all were so good!



I think next time I will add a bit of garlic salt to the dough. OR make a garlic butter dipping sauce, that would be soooo good!!! :D



This is a recipe that your kids could totally help you out with! The mixing of the dough, rolling it out, getting all the ingredients on the wheels and then rolling it up.


Oh, one thing to remember, I placed foil down on my pan, easier clean up, but I didn't spray the foil, you WILL want to spray your foil before placing your pizza wheels on it! It didn't stick too bad, but it would be easier to get off if sprayed! ;)


Take a part of your dough, in my case, this was a fourth of it... ;)


Roll it out into a rectangle, again, in my case, as best as you can! ;)


Spread some pizza sauce on it... I used spaghetti sauce, i had it on hand. :)




Lay out some ham
Sprinkle with cheese


Roll it up


And then cut! :)


Place on a foil covered pizza pan


another one i did was ham, mushroom and cheese...


And another that I LOVED was spinach and cheese! ;)


And then I did an all cheese one! :)


Here are all of them on the pan...


Here they are all done! They puffed up a bit and they were PERFECT!!! :) Super yummy if I do say so myself! :)



I ate most of the spinach ones, LOVED them!!! I think I will try and do spinach, mushroom, and cheese one! ;)




Pizza Wheels





2 2/3 cup all purpose flour ( I don't see why you couldn't use whole wheat too! ;)) You will need a little bit extra for rolling out


A dash of salt


1 1/2 teaspoons (heaping) active dry yeast


1 cup warm milk


2 tablespoons olive oil (I used coconut oil)


Spaghetti sauce, or your sauce of choice.. ;)


Ingredients to place inside your pizza wheels, like, ham, cheese, mushrooms (thinly sliced), onions, green pepper, diced small, baby spinach, etc... ;)





Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Combine milk and yeast, stir just a bit. Let sit for 5 minutes, your yeast mixture should be a bit foamy by now. Add oil and stir.


Add flour, and salt and stir until just combined. This is where the fun starts, you get your hands into the mixture and knead until no longer sticky.


Divide your dough into 2 equal parts. Roll out into a 12x18 rectangle and spread your sauce over the top. Place your pizza toppings of choice on top and then top with cheese. Roll up and cut into 16 slices.


Place on foil covered cookie sheet and bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown and done.



We love pizza around here, and sometimes doing the same old same old gets a little old. Not that I fix it alot, but still, I like to keep things fun and easy around here! This is for sure a hit and will be making it again! :) ENJOY!!!!

Basic Baked Beans

(I have no pictures for this post as well! :( I was going through my recipes and saw that I hadn't posted this one, and have NO clue where the pics are for this, but let me tell you, I DO KNOW for a FACT that I will be making this again! This would be GREAT with hamburgers or hot dogs for a cook out! Yummy! I'm thinking I am going to have to make this, and soon!!! :D)


I actually remembered to soak the beans last nite! :) Also, since I was up early, I went ahead and started cooking them. It took about 2 hours to cook and let me tell you, the house smelled sooooo good! I don't know what it is about beans cooking, but I just LOVE the smell! ;) Maybe it's because I remember my mom cooking them and when she did, she always cooked something good! Most likely a recipe that was my Aunt and Uncles, so it was G-O-O-D!!!!!!!! ;)

I served this with rice. It as really good! The kiddos all asked for more, so that's a plus in my book! :)

I really liked the fact that I could just put this in the oven and pretty much forget about it for 4 hours! I am pretty sure you could put this in the crockpot, but this was soo good in my cast iron pot just baking in the oven! Plus, it made the house smell really good too!

This recipe calls for navy beans, which I thought I had, but I couldn't find them. So I just soaked 2 pounds of pinto beans. I knew the recipe for the next nite would have pinto beans, so now, one step done for tomorrow's recipe! ;)

Basic Baked Beans

Soak overnite
1 pound navy beans and enough water to cover and then a bit extra. Your beans will swell up, so you want to make sure there is enough water. ;)

In the same liquid that you soaked the beans in, simmer for about 2 hours. Bring it to a boil and then turn way down to simmer for an hour and a half to 2 hours.
Drain, reserving the liquid.
Preheat oven to 275-300 degrees.
Combine in 2 quart casserole:
cooked beans
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 slices bacon, chopped, or 1/4 pound salt pork (optional)
reserved bean liquid to cover
Stir it all to combine.
Bake 4-8 hours adding liquid occasionally if necessary. Cover during first half of baking time, then uncover.

*I didn't have any bacon, so I didn't add any meat. I think it would be GREAT with some bacon flavor in this!
The recipe also calls for 1/4 cup ketchup, but I added a bit more.
And like I said at the top, I didn't have any navy beans, so I used pinto. Tasted just fine to me! ;)
Enjoy this super easy meal! It does take time, but really, the only time is waiting for the beans to soak and then to cook in the oven!

Roasted Chickpeas

These are really easy to make, and they are really good! I used some of the leftover chickpeas in my hummus. Yummy!!!

You can make these using canned chickpeas, or you could get the bag of dried chickpeas and then soak them over nite and cook until soft. You get WAY more from a bag of dried beans than you do if you bought a can. But if you need something fast, use the cans... ;) A bag of 1 pound beans cost me a buck, where a can of 14 oz beans cost me 99 cents. Ok, you are thinking, 1 cent cheaper, but you know what? You get about 3 times as much from the bag than you do the can! (does that make sense? ;)) I made 2 pounds of dried chickpeas and these guys puffed up like you would not believe! ;)



Mix together the spices and the liquids...


Stir in the chickpeas...


All covered in spices ready to bake!


Place in taco shell...


Add anything you want to it! ;) I added shredded cheddar cheese...


Some lettuce, I want to try spinach instead...


And some sour cream, notice how it got all over the place? Oh well, it's all good! ;)


My little one attempting to eat the taco!


He lost pretty much all of his chickpeas! Guess where they ended up?


Yeppers, the floor!!! He got about 5 in his mouth and rest where on the floor and under his chair!! But he really liked what he tasted! hahaha



Roasted Chickpeas

•2 1/2 t. chili powder
•1/2 t. garlic powder
•1/4 t. onion powder
•1/4 t. dried oregano
•2 t. ground cumin
•1 t. sea salt
•1 T. lime juice
•2 T. water
•One 14 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
•8 taco shells
•Taco trimmings: shredded lettuce or cabbage, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese, etc...

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cumin, salt, lime juice and water.
Add chickpeas and marinate for at least 30 minutes. (I like to do it for an hour!)
Place chickpeas on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring once during cooking, until chickpeas are slightly crispy.
Prepare taco shells according to package directions. Fill with chickpeas and desired toppings.

Black Bean and Hummus Wraps

So this is kinda a take off of what I've already posted, but I've added one more ingredient...

Black Beans!

I had made up a 2 pound bag of beans the other week and mashed them puppy's up and just used them when I needed too!

Which, reminds me, I need to rinse and soak some more tonite before going to bed. I'm going to need them this week!

It's CRAZY how CHEAP a bag of beans are and really how EASY they are to fix! They are all packed proteins and all sorts of good stuff!

Navy Beans and Pinto Beans have 15 grams of PROTEIN in them! Also about 10 grams of fiber in them too! Wow!

Black Beans have 15 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber!

Chick peas (what you use to make hummus) has 14 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber!

This is just to name a few! I mean, you can TOTALLY make a DELISH meal out of beans! I've posted some in here, where you don't need tortillas to make it a dish...

I'm thinkin' a week of just bean recipes should be in order.... I am going to post how much I spent on that one week just by using all bean recipes! For atleast suppers, maybe not lunch, I dunno, will have to see how that plays out... I can't do it the week that my in-laws will be here, he's not a fan of any type of bean... Maybe next week I will do that....? My hubs will be out of town, not that he doesn't like it, but it would be a good week to try it on the kids first! Maybe try to do lunches as well... I am actually getting excited about this one! I mean, seriously!!!

Now granted, not all the prices are going to be the same for you. Be on the look-out for bean week! I'll post in advance and warn y'all that it's coming! I will seriously try and do it next week! ;)

Ok, back to my recipe at hand, yet again, not the first time where I've gone a stray... So sorry... I am tired.. Maybe I shouldn't post when I am tired?

My kids LOVED these just as much as they loved the regular hummus ones! The only thing different, add a layer of black beans! Really, you could add any kind of bean... But like I said, I had made up some black beans already, so that's what I used. And if you are all into the whole color scheme of things, the black looks really good with the light color of the hummus! ;)

Place some hummus on your flour tortilla


Then add your black beans... since I soaked mine and cooked them, they are kinda mashed... but you don't have too!



Just a bit of shredded cheddar cheese on top...

Roll it up... I put a TEENY amount of coconut oil over the top and bottom and fried them up! YUMMY!!!! :)


Here it is! SOOOO good!!! I know, maybe green beans aren't the greatest veggie to eat with the wraps, but that's what my kiddos wanted! (I watch for those frozen veggies that steam in your microwave to go on sale... Then it's a fast veggie that I can add to their lunch! ;))



Black Bean and Hummus Wraps


Ok, you know what, I am not even going to really write this out. I have NO clue the measurements on these items that you need! Because you know what? You can put in how much ever you want!!! It also depends on the size of tortilla you get!
So here's what you need:

Flour tortillas
Black beans, rinsed if you are using them from a can, or if you have a bag of them, make sure you soak them overnite, and then cook until soft...
Hummus (your choice of flavor, etc...)
Shredded cheddar cheese, or Mexican cheese

Take a tortilla, layer a little bit of hummus on it, then a layer of black beans, then your cheese. Roll that bad boy up, fry it up, or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. You could even eat it cold if you wanted to! It's however you wish! ;)

ENJOY!!! :D

Swordfish Steaks

Ok, so if you REALLY know me, you know that I REALLY dislike fish, or any form of seafood! Ok, let me rephrase that... I don't like the smell of seafood, or the consistency/texture of certain fish/seafood, so it's hard for me! ;)

I have tried tilapa, halibut, and crab cakes. Now I can add swordfish to my list! :)

At first I wasn't too sure, because it was kinda starting to smell "fishy"!!! But then after I plopped it in the skillet the smell actually went away!

These took a bit longer to cook as well... These bad boys were THICK!!!! But I am not gonna lie, they were good!

I am going to get these steaks again and try to make it one other way now!

And on another note... All 4 of my kiddos LOVED this!! They all wanted more!!!! I made roasted cauliflower with this as well.. YUMMO!!! A complete meal, success! All new "firsts", was a HIT!!!!!!!!!!! That's BIG and awesome in my book, seeings how I don't like fish! ;)

I didn't really take any pictures! I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out! Infact I didn't think it would, so I didn't bother to take a ton of pics! I know, that's bad! But it really is easy!!! :)



Place your marinated swordfish steaks in skillet




Here it is done with roasted cauliflower! (cauliflower recipe coming either later today, or tomorrow!)



Swordfish Steaks

4 cloves garlic-cut in half
1/3 sherry cooking wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Old Bay
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 swordfish steaks

Combine all the ingredients minus the swordfish in a gallon size bags. Close the ziploc bag tightly and shake a bit to combine. Open it up and add the 4 swordfish steaks.
Marinate for an hour, flipping the bag over every 10-15 minutes.
Heat a bit of oil in a skillet and put steaks in. Cook until done or temp reaches 145 degrees.
Serve hot!!! Don't over cook or it will be nasty!

Egyptian Tabikh

I just love a meal where I have leftovers, and I can use them for another recipe, but not in the same way! Did that make sense?

Take this for instance... I made it one nite, then the "sauce" part I was able to re-heat it for the next nite, but I cooked noodles to put the sauce over instead of the rice like this recipe calls for! That's a major score in my book!! :D

The name sounds complicated, but really, it's sooooo easy! This is one of those meals that if you don't feel like cooking, or don't have the energy, or simply don't want to pick something up from the drive-thru, this is what you can cook!

Also, the possibilities are pretty much endless for this dish! I put in carrots, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and green beans. I think that's all I put in, I don't remember now! ;)


Here are all my cut up veggies!!! Minus the mushrooms....


Here I added some mushrooms! My hubs was like, wanna add some mushrooms to it? He was joking, but it was good with them in there!



Here is it... yummo!!!!


All done! Super delish and healthy!



Egyptian Tabikh

Prepare for cooking:
Green beans
Zucchini, squash
OR a vegetable mixture

Instead of cooking in water, cook in tomato juice.
Thicken the juice with a can of tomato paste, if desired.
Add sauteed onion and seasonings.
Serve over rice.

*Option:
Cook small pieces of meat in the tomato juice until tender. Add vegetables during the last 15-20 minutes.

I got this recipe form More-With-Less cookbook.
I grabbed 2 cans of diced tomatoes, and a can of tomato paste and put them in my Vitamix and blended it all up. Then I put it in a saucepan with all my veggies and cooked until tender. Served it over jasmine rice. SUPER good! The kiddos all loved it! :D
You can add as many veggies to this as you want! If you don't want it chunky like ours was, then add less.... I also cut the carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini, but left the green beans the way they were. ;)
One more thing, I didn't sautee the onions before putting them in, I just cut them up and added it with all my other veggies.. I was being a bit lazy I guess.... ;)