Category Archives: Main Dishes

zucchini lasagna

Sure, I’ve pinned so many things on Pinterest that I’ll never be able to make it all in one lifetime, BUT I am still diligent at trying new things all the time! This was one thing I had pinned for ages and finally tried. Super glad I did.

I didn’t take pictures after it was cooked because, well, I don’t have a good camera or equipment to make something like messy it’s-already-dark-outside lasagna look even halfway decent. I found the recipe on with beautiful photos.

But trust me. Mike and I ate ALL OF IT. Okay, not in one night but we devoured those leftovers.

Prep takes a little longer if you don’t have a mandoline slicer, but I managed just fine.

To help reduce the liquid in the zucchini, I laid the slices out on paper towels, salted them and let them sit for several minutes. Then I squeezed them with paper towels, broiled them a few minutes and then squeezed them with paper towels again.  I am glad I did as I read a lot of comments about zucchini lasagna being quite watery. Definitely take the time to do this!

I would go out on a limb and say that even those who dislike zucchini would likely enjoy this. It acted more like the “texture” that pasta normally does than have any strong zucchini flavor.

Let me know if you try it! Here’s the .

philly cheese pot roast sandwiches

Looking Back: Originally posted on May 18, 2013.

During the 8(ish)-month stint of a broken oven last year, I used my crockpot like a crazy lady. This was one of our very favorite recipes during that time.

Just re-sharing this is making me want to make this again soon…

The printable recipe is !

honey & rosemary brined turkey

Looking Back: Originally posted on Dec 27, 2011.

A few years ago we stayed at my parents’ house for the weekend of Christmas so it was a lovely thing to use their beautiful kitchen!

I was in charge of the turkey and I can’t believe this is the only photo we got of it! But you get the idea…

I did not alter anything from they shared on their website (besides not making the gravy they included).

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hearty chicken pot pie

Looking Back: Originally posted on Feb 22, 2011.

Not much to say about this one except I remember we loved it. :)

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gf stuffed bell peppers with picadillo rice

Looking Back: Originally posted on Jun 2, 2012.

Neither Mike nor I have to eat gluten-free but somehow I ended up with this vegetarian gluten-free cookbook a few years back (because we DO enjoy vegetarian eating quite often).

This was a favorite – we ate every last grain of rice!

I slightly adapted the recipe (particularly removing olives, because…I’m sorry, who can stand those) ;), but mostly it came straight from the book, “125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes” by Carol Fenster, Ph.D.

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chicken enchiladas with salsa verde

Looking Back: Originally posted on Feb 11, 2011.

This was a scrumptious version of enchiladas our friends made us one night at their house. Glenda then shared the recipe with me (originally from Cooking Light magazine) and the rest is history!

A couple notes on it:
– I didn’t use a blender for the sauce so it was chunkier. Either way is good.
– The sauce doesn’t “drench” the enchiladas very much, so if you like it saucy, I’d double that part.

Serve it up with Mexican rice, black beans, lime chunks or whatever you like with this type of dish. Enjoy!

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fastest pizza ever

Looking Back: Originally posted on Sept 4, 2012.

Original post:

I’ve made quite a bit of homemade pizza in the few short years I’ve actually cooked past boxed foods, and with most of those I made my own dough.  But even if I buy a pre-made crust, you still have to preheat the oven, wait for the pizza to cook, etc.  So I just totally made up a new way…

If you’re quick and adept at finger activities, you can have a pizza from ingredients in the fridge to in your mouth in 2 minutes.

I “discovered” this a couple weeks ago when another meeting or phone call kept being scheduled the moment I got done with another one.  So I finally had 10 minutes allotted between one and the next to scrounge up lunch mid-afternoon.

Getting ready to move, one of the areas to clean out is of course the kitchen.  You can imagine (and more than likely have experienced), it’s one of those times all you want to do is avoid grocery store trips (except for the almost 20 apples the two of us eat a week) and use as much as you can from what you have.

So here it is…real quick-like…

Plate –> Tortilla –> Sauce –> Cheese –> Toppings –> a tiny bit more Cheese –> Microwave for 1 minute.

I know, right?  That’s it.  Of course it doesn’t taste like “real” pizza with a thicker dough but it’s pretty darn close.  And if you use reduced fat cheese, reduced fat turkey pepperoni, and corn tortillas it’s even better for you than most pizzas. ;)

P.S. Here‘s the recipe for my homemade pizza sauce (which I happened to already have whipped up this time).

tomato pie

Looking Back: Originally posted on Aug 22, 2011.

I think all beginner gardeners are required to start with tomatoes. They are so easy to grow and give a little boost to the confidence of the newbie. :)

In our case, we had tomatoes coming out our ears the first year I planted a garden! So what did I do?

Make pie, of course!

It was fun, easy, and also pretty. Gotta have pretty…
(One tip, though – use a crust cover.)

 

Click  to download the recipe. Happy Summer cooking!

Recipe from Taste of Home.