Tuna Noodle Casserole

When most people think of tuna noodle casserole they imagine pasta noodles and things like crushed potato chips. My tuna noodle casserole is completely different. It's super easy, cheap and I think it tastes really good. It may not look pretty, but I grew up on this stuff and love it.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of milk (fill soup can)
2 cans tuna
1 bag chow mein noodles (the crunchy brown kind)

Mix first three ingredients in a large bowl. Add noodles until soaks up the excees liquid. May have to add some and wait a few minutes, then add some more. Microwave single servings for a few minutes. Top with extra noodles if desired.

Cashew Chicken

Another easy, healthy Asian dish. The sauce is good, but it needed more for the leftovers. Otherwise, no complaints. Tasty.

Cashew Chicken

1&1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 T soy sauce
1 T ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, shredded (2 cups)
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cups cashews, toasted and chopped
3 cups quinoa or rice (used brown rice)

Combine chicken, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a shallow dish; cover and let marinate for at least 30 minutes up to 8 hours. Spray large wok or skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium-high heat. Add chicken and marinade and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add carrots, broccoli and onion to same skillet and saute for 5 minutes or until crips-tender. Add chicken back to pan and add broth. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cashews and cook 2 more minutes or until thorouhly heated. Serve over quinoa or rice.

Source: Clean Eating magazine

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake

This is from The Cake Doctor cookbook--which has recipes that start with cake mixes and then jazzes them up. So you can be a little lazy, but it still seems like you weren't. I thought this was very good. It was moist and very chocolatey. The only disappointment was that there wasn't enough cherry taste. Maybe you could add some kirsch or something. But as far as chocolate cakes go, it's yummy.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil's food cake mix or devil's food mix with pudding
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 package (6 ounces; 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.

Place the cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.

For the glaze, place the sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so it covers the entire surface. The glaze will be thin but will firm up. Cool the cake for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Source: Food Network

Pico de Gallo

Love some fresh pico de gallo. I don't really use a recipe anymore. Just sort of make sure it looks right.

Pico de Gallo

Equal parts cilantro, tomatoes, and onion
1 to 2 jalapenos
A few splashes of lime juice
A few shakes of salt

Chop ingredients and mix it together. Food processors mush it too much, I prefer hand chop.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is not really sweet and sour. It has the elements-- the chicken, the peppers, the pineapple-- but it's missing the sauce. It is still really good and good for you. So maybe it just needs a different name.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 T raw honey (or regular)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/4 tsp crushed pepper flake
1&1/4 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
12 sprigs cilantro
1&1/2 cups cooked brown rice

In small bowl whisk together soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes. Place chicken in a large shallow dish. Pour mixture over chicken, toss. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to 8 hours.

Heat a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and marinade and saute' for 5 minutes or until vegetables are slightly tender. Add pineapple and cook 2 more minutes. Sprinkle with cilatro and serve over rice.

Source: Clean Eating magazine

Broccoli-Cheese Chowder

Nothing like a steaming bowl of chowder when it is 110 degrees outside. At least it doesn't heat up the house. The directions for this tell you to mash with a fork. I used my immersion blender. It's awesome. Of course, it looked a lot like split pea soup when I was done. We added a little ham to it, but it isn't necessary.
The soup is yummy and creamy without having a bunch of fatty cream in it.

Broccoli-Cheese Chowder

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces broccoli crowns, (see Ingredient Note), cut into 1-inch pieces, stems and florets separated
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion and celery soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard and cayenne; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.

Add broth and broccoli stems; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in florets; simmer, covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes more. Transfer 2 cups of the chowder to a bowl and mash; return to the pan.

Stir in Cheddar and sour cream; cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the chowder is heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.
 
Source: Eating Well

Cajun Jambalaya

I don't think this is an authentic jambalaya, but it was pretty good. I had to keep the shrimp out due to a certain someone not liking shrimp. But it's pretty easy and healthy and you can even cook it on the grill if you want to keep the house cool.

Cajun Jambalaya

1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tail on
4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1 inch pieces
1 turkey sausage, sliced (I used linguisa sausage cause I had it and it's spicy, andouille is the traditional sausage)
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1&1/2 medium tomatoes, cored and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1&1/2 T Cajun seasoning
1 cup instant brown rice (you can use white rice if you prefer)
1/2 cup chicken broth (I used a little extra)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, toss all ingredients until combined. Spray 2 pieces of foil with cooking spray (about 20 inches long). Divide mixture evenly and fold to seal. Place pouches on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until rice and meat are fully cooked. Carefully open and test a grain of rice. Return to oven for 5 more minutes if not done.

Source: Clean Eating magazine

Tilapia with Blackberry Glaze

I found the recipe for the glaze in my Clean Eating magazine. The magazine uses it on salmon, but I had tilapia and it was very good. I like the mild flavor of tilapia and it works really well with this glaze.

Tilapia with Blackberry Glaze

Tilapia or salmon
2 cups blackberries, divided
2 tsp raw honey (I used regular)
4 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp dark sesame oil
1/4 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and bake about 10 minutes for tilapia or 18 minutes for salmon or until done (flakes with fork).

Take 16 blackberries and place in bowl. Mash them and add honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, and orange juice. Stir and drizzle over fish. Remaining blackberries can be used as garnish or in an accompaning salad (the original recipe has an arugula and asparagus combo).